Forest Secrets
by Magemaster
Summary: SPR recieves a new case dealing with a haunted forest in the US. Ghosts aren't the only thing roaming amoung the trees, as Mai discovers. MaiXNaru
1. Chapter 1

Forest Secrets

Chapter I

I do not own Ghost Hunt. I own the plot and any OC people in this story only.

* * *

Mai glanced around the forest she and the rest of SPR had found themselves in for their current case. They were currently in Pennsylvania, US of A. The forest wasn't very big, according to both Naru and their current clients, but people disappeared only to turn up dead, graves had been found of murder victims, strange noises were heard in the night and some of those they had spoken to claimed to have seen things (only a few claimed them as ghosts) through the trees that did not belong in the forest.

The forest itself was surrounded on one side by a highway and the Ohio River on the other. On the opposite side of the river was more trees, but only a few meters thick as houses were clearly noticeable. The nearby town wasn't exactly hostile, but for someone who didn't speak English very well it seemed that way.

"Mai," Takigawa called, getting her attention, "are you finished?"

"Hai!" Mai called back to him. She had been placing a covering over the camera to keep it both dry and safe from any curious creatures that may try to eat it for a snack.

Takigawa grinned. Mai was hardly dressed to be running about the woods, but then she was very much a city girl. Masako wasn't much better, although she at least had not worn a kimono since they had left the hotel this morning. Ayako was better prepared, dressed in hiking boots, jeans, and a long-sleeved t-shirt.

"let's head back then. Naru is probably suffering tea withdrawal by now." Takigawa grinned as Mai smiled.

Together they headed back, Takigawa watching to make sure nothing happened to Mai. So far nothing had really happened, but unless they had been called here on a prank something would happen sooner or later.

Naru ignored them when they returned except for telling Mai to bring him his tea. Mai scowled at him, but did as she was told. While she waited for the kettle to whistle, she thought about the case (or what she knew about it at least).

A little over two weeks ago a woman had come to their office in Japan requesting their help. Her friend, an American woman who had traveled to Japan in her college days had gone missing. The woman's sisters had contacted Hikari-san, asking if Alexis Moxie (her friend) was with her.

Ms. Moxie had apparently gone missing a week before they called Hikari-san. They had been calling all of the woman's friends (which, according to Hikari-san, there were very few) and none of them had been in contact with the woman. Ms. Moxie was an English teacher at the local high school of the town that the forest was located near. She supposedly spent a great amount of time outdoors, particularly during the summer holidays. Hikari-san had been very frank in telling them about her friend and the reason behind Ms. Moxie's sisters wanting her found.

Mai shivered, preparing Naru's tea and taking it to him. Really, Mai hoped Ms. Moxie was still alive and well. She sounded like an interesting person, not to mention well traveled. So far they had nothing from the forest and it was a little disappointing.

"Naru, do we really need to stay here, in the woods, for the entire investigation?" Ayako asked, slightly annoyed. Many of the trees here had little life in them, spiritually wise.

"I'm not paying you to sit in a hotel room," Naru replied, not even looking up at the Miko.

"Don't like the dirt?" Takigawa teased. This began a fight, which Naru ignored along with Lin. Masako ignored it as well, sniffing disdainfully at her sometimes co-workers.

Mai sighed, used to this by now. Instead, she studied the maps that had been provided for them. The one she was currently looking at showed the different trail that wound through the forest itself and where they exited. There was an open space near the center of the forest, most of the trails seemed to skirt around it with only two entering/leaving it. The trails were for either riding (the camping office had a barn where campers could rent horses or stable their own), ATV trails (Mai had also seen those for rent near the office), or regular hiking. There were a few service roads that lead to the different campsites though a few were reachable only by horse, ATV, or hiking. Looking at the map, Mai realized that a service road and an ATV trail led to the strange clearing.

"Naru," Mai looked at her boss, wondering if he already knew and was going to call her an idiot or if he was just going to glare at her.

"What Mai?" Naru barely looked at his young assistant.

"Uh," Mai swallowed. She could do this. "Have you seen this map yet?" She handed it to him.

"What about it?" Naru barely glanced at it. It was just a map of the trails through the woods. He had several of them, planning to send groups out to look over them beginning tomorrow.

"There's an empty space, a large one near the center of the forest. It isn't marked as a campsite, but the other trails seem t avoid it except for two." Mai prepared for him to call her an idiot and tell her it was nothing.

Naru took a closer look at the map. She was right. "Get the other maps and see if they are the same." He looked at her. "All of the maps Mai."

Mai nodded. At least he hadn't called her an idiot yet. She did as she was told. All of the maps were the same. None of them said anything on what the clearing was, only what it wasn't.

Naru didn't like this. A forest used for recreational purposes did have unmarked areas unless there was a reason for it. He was certain that there was one. Unfortunately, night was falling. It meant that they were currently the only ones on the property. He looked at the maps again. The clearing was roughly two acres of land in a rough circle. It was also almost equally distanced between the road, the river, the nearest town, and a construction yard. Naru had looked at all four places. The town, those they had spoken to at least, only reported strange things happening in the forest itself. Nothing of any supernatural or paranormal activity to report from the construction yard. The river was a smaller branch off the Ohio, but nothing to odd ever seemed to occur there. The road was the same.

There was nothing they could do until daylight. He didn't want any of his team actually among the trees during the night until they had had a chance to observe what they could. Instead, he sent Takigawa and Mai into town to get them something to eat. The RV and trailer that he and Lin had gotten from Naru's parents for this case were not outfitted to be able to prepare enough food for seven people. Naru was beginning to dread the sleeping arrangements. Lin was the lucky one, having the bed in the trailer so that he could keep watch over the monitors.


	2. Chapter 2

Forest Secrets

Chapter II

I do not own Ghost Hunt. I own the plot and any OC people in this story only.

* * *

Mai couldn't sleep. She could barely move. Easing out from between Masako and Ayako, she made her way to the door. Takigawa was snoring and his noise alone covered any sound Mai might have made. John was also asleep, curled up into a ball across from Takigawa. She didn't see Naru, but she didn't expect to.

Carefully, she edged open the door and slipped outside. The air was cooler out here and Mai breathed in the scented air. Something stirred in her and Mai began walking towards the forest. It was an ATV trail, not that Mai particularly cared. She had this incessant need to wonder, which considering her track record wasn't exactly the best idea.

She followed the trail, ignoring the fact that she was barefoot. The trail was dry and hard packed with very few, if any, actual obstacles. She ghosted along the path, looking around her. She didn't hear anything. It was silent.

Mai stopped. She knew, as much as the next person, that there should always be some sort of noise in a forest. She and Takigawa had spotted a few sleeping owls while they were setting up cameras. Shouldn't they be out hunting now?

The girl turned around, fully intending to head back to camp. She stopped, staring at the thing coming towards her. It was twisted and dark, not any shape Mai could easily describe. The thing's eyes were glowing green in the darkness and flashes of what Mai figured were claws glinted in what little light there was. It moved as if it were stalking her.

Mai swallowed, every instinct she had telling her to scream and run. She took a step backward, the creature shifting. Mai spun and began to sprint further up the path. She heard the thing leap and she felt it behind her. Mai sped up. Swirling around her was mist and terrified screaming began as the mist thickened.

A horse called out a challenge, from where Mai didn't know. Shouting Mai didn't understand and a power Mai had no idea how she felt it washed over her. The thing behind her cried out in pain and anger. A ghostly tiger, of all things, dashed past Mai and attacked the thing.

"Grab my hand!" Mai skidded to a stop as a hand was trust at her. "Come on, Fang can't hold it off for long and the spell is only going to delay it. Take my hand."

Mai took the woman's hand and felt herself lifted onto a horse. Mai grabbed onto her rescuer as the woman turned the horse and took off into a gallop. With her eyes closed, Mai didn't know where they went until she opened her eyes once they stopped.

They were inside a barn. It was brightly lit. The doors were still open, but not for long as the woman waved her hand and the doors shut and locked themselves. The woman spoke again, but Mai didn't understand what she said. Symbols glowed on the doors, windows, and walls of the barn. Two more horses whinnied in welcome.

"You can let go now," the woman spoke again.

Mai blushed and released her. "Thank you," she murmured, knowing her English was bad. She could read and understand it just fine. Speaking it was what gave her trouble.

"Your welcome," the woman had switched to Japanese, smiling at Mai's surprised look. She carefully set the girl on the ground before swinging off the horses back herself. "Stall," she ordered the animal, who snorted but complied.

"Who are you?" Mai asked. The woman before her had the same brown hair and eyes that Mai herself had.

"Alexis Moxie, Alex to everyone I like." Alex smiled at the girl, taking in her looks as well. She didn't miss the similarities between them either. "What were you doing out in the forest at night? Didn't any one warn you?"

Mai blinked at the woman. "I couldn't sleep and I felt like walking." Mai blushed. She knew how stupid she had been.

Alex sighed. "What's your name?"

"Taniyama Mai," Mai bowed, winching when she remembered that Americans introduced themselves differently.

Alex blinked at the girl's last name, but shoved the thought aside for the time being. "Was there anyone else with you?"

Mai nodded and explained why she was in the forest in the first place. When she was done, Alex stared at her.

"Hopefully your friends stay inside," she looked over to where her horse snorted in annoyance. "Do you know anything about horses?"

Mai found herself helping Alex, who was younger then Mai had been led to believe , tend to the horse (Dasher) that she had ridden to rescue Mai.

"How did you know someone needed help?" Mai asked. They had continued to speak in Japanese, Alex only having a few difficulties that disappeared the longer they spoke.

"My spirit animals," she shook her head at Mai's look of confusion. "They're the animals that most reflect the main three aspects of my being as well as being guardians and helpers of a sort. Fang is the tiger," Alex drew out a necklace, three stands of different colored thread braided together except for where an animal shaped charm resided on one of the strands. "Kavi is the owl, and Loki is the fox. Kavi told me there was someone in trouble so I came out here, got Dasher and set out."

Mai nodded. It sounded almost like Lin's shiki. "What were you saying?"

"Latin," Alex explained. "As a language it works better for spell work since the kind of magic I used was recorded in Latin. Translation causes the spells I use to either lose power or not work at all." Alex shrugged. "It's also a safety feature. Say a spell wrong and the best that can happen is nothing. At worst, you end up dead with something big and bad unleashed."

Mai nodded, eyes wide. "Do you know anything about the disappearances and deaths?"

Alex sighed and nodded. "I do. They've been happening for a very long time. Once this forest covered most of the state along with parts of Ohio and New York. Now, most of it has been left in either small wooded areas of supposedly protected recreational sights like this place is. The murder victims that were found stretch back a good sixty years with three culprits, all of whom have been caught and given the death penalty. I helped to catch the youngest one and he spilled on his father and grandfather."

Mai looked pale as Alex told her this. The woman knew a lot about the area.

"As for the other things, the murders were all committed in this forest. Some of those reported missing from the trails and campsites were victims. Some of the missing people went missing simply because they got lost or died in the forest with none the wiser." Alex silently put up the cloths and brushes and Mai had been using. "The shadow creatures, like the one that wanted you for dinner, are the cause of some idiots who messed with things they didn't understand. Luckily, they can't leave the boundaries of the forest."

"What happened-" Alex cut her off.

"They're dead. Five creatures for five idiots." Alex sighed. "One of them was a student of mine. His cousins were interested in magic and the occult in general. They thought it would be a good idea to see if any of it would work. My student got caught up in it and died as a result. All five of them did."

Mai could see the pain in the woman. "Did you know, before they did it?"

Alex sighed. "No, I didn't know what they were going to do until it was already too late and I felt the power surge of their spell."

"Do you blame yourself?" Mai sat down on the bale of hay Alex pointed her to.

"No," Alex said, "but I still have a responsibility to rid the forest of the creatures. They keep the spirits here that should be able to pass on."

Mai gat a sickening feeling in her gut. "Are the creatures feeding off the spirits?"

Alex nodded. "I believe so." She looked up. One of the symbols were glowing. Alex said something and the tiger spirit entered through the glowing symbol. Alex stroked the beast's head before closing her eyes. Fang melted into Alex, the tiger charm on her necklace glowing briefly. Mai realized now that each charm was cast in a different metal. Fang was gold, Kavi the owl in silver, and Loki the fox in bronze.

"Is it safe to leave now?" Mai knew the others would be worried for her when they discovered her missing. She didn't want them entering the forest and actually being eaten by one of the creatures.

"Yes, but we're only going as far as my house. We'll get your friends in the morning. I should have enough room for all of you." Alex stood and touched the door.

"You don't need to do that." Mai began to protest.

"It's dangerous in the forest," Alex said as the symbols all glowed briefly before fading to barely visible. "My home and grounds are all protected. The creatures cannot enter here, they've already learned that."

Alex led Mai to her home and inside. She pointed Mai to the bedroom beside hers and told the girl to sleep. Unknown to Mai, Alex ensured she would sleep with a small spell. Mai didn't even dream.

* * *

The next morning Mai awoke to the mouthwatering scent of fresh muffins. Using her nose, Mai found herself in the kitchen where Alex was just pulling out a tray of muffins. Another was already cooling on the counter.

"Morning," Alex set the tray down. "Juice, milk, tea, or soda?"

It took Mai a few seconds to understand what Alex was asking. "Tea, please."

"Girl after my own heart, what kind?" She pointed to the opened cabinet door where boxes of different flavored tea were placed. While Mai looked over her choices, Alex filled the kettle and set to heat on her stove-top.

"You must drink a lot of tea," Mai commented, choosing a flavor she'd never had before. Alex grinned and took two tear bags. Mai had unknowingly picked Alex's favorite morning tea.

"Yes, I drink it mostly when I'm not feeling well, but I prefer this in the morning to anything else. Maybe while you stay here you can try some of my own blends." Alex pointed to the canisters of tea that had hand-written labels.

Mai smiled. "I would enjoy that."

"The muffins are chocolate chip or apple cinnamon. What we don't eat we can take to your friends." Alex prepared the tea and set the cups on the table. Mai took a seat as Alex retrieved two plates and a plate of muffins from both pans.

They talked while they ate, Alex having a map out on the table so that she would know where they needed to go.

"We're here," she pointed to the large clearing that had been the topic of discussion yesterday between Mai and Naru. "Which campsite is your group at?"

Mai studied the map for a few moments, "this one," she pointed to one near the very edge of the forest. "Why isn't your home on the maps?"

Alex laughed. "Technically it is, but few people travel this way so it isn't all that important to mark it. My property actually extends partly into the surrounding area. When we head back to your friends, I'll show you my markers. That way you'll know the safety range incase anyone should need it."

Mai smiled brightly. "Thank you Alex," the woman had told her last night that a suffix wasn't needed, "I'm sure the others will welcome your help."

Alex grinned and nodded. She hoped they would, especially if her theory proved correct.

"Well, shall we swing by town and get drinks for your friends or will food be enough?" Alex asked with a grin.

Mai shook her head. "Food will be fine. Naru made sure we had plenty of things to drink, but the camper we have isn't meant to be able to cook for seven people."

"Well, I can most definitely cook for large crowds. You like the muffins?"

Mai nodded. "These are very good. Where did you learn to cook?"

Alex's smile faltered. "Growing up, I had the most talent for it so I basically lived in the kitchen when I wasn't studying or reading."

Mai didn't think Alex was being completely truthful, but she didn't push her friend. Obviously the memories weren't happy ones. Mai had her own share of those that she would rather not share.

"How are we going to get to the campsite?" Mai asked, changing the subject.

"My truck," Alex answered. "I'd use my bike or ATV, but that would damage the muffins and be difficult to lead your friends back here."

Mai nodded. "Let's go then. Everyone should be awake by now."

Alex nodded. "My clothing might be a bit big, but I'm sure I've something that'll fit. You go shower while I get things ready."

Mai nodded, enjoying a fast shower before dressing in the jeans and t-shirt Alex loaned her. Together they left the house and Alex had Mai hold the muffin basket while she drove the truck around. Mai gaped at the truck.

"Climb in," Alex told her, taking the muffins so that Mai could do so. Her truck was solid black with leather interior. It was made for off-roading and heavy towing. Perfect for a person who lived in basically the middle of a forest.

It didn't take long for Alex to get them to the campsite. She helped Mai out and took the muffins to place on the picnic table near an unused fire pit.

Takigawa had come out of the forest when he heard the truck pull in. John was searching with him.

"Mai!" He grabbed the girl up in a hug before proceeding to ask multiple questions and check her for injuries.

"Where have you been?" Naru appeared, Lin close behind him. He did not look happy. Mai almost winched.

"With me," Alex stared the young man down. "Mai got drawn out by one of the creatures into the forest. I rescued her and had her stay at my place for the night."

"You are?" Naru glared at her, the woman glaring right back instead of cowering in fear.

"Alexis Moxie, Alex to most. Mai told me that Tama Hikari hired you to investigate this forest because she was concerned about me." Alex looked around, counting in her head to make sure all of Mai's friends were present. They were. "Obviously I'm not dead, nor am I missing."

Naru nodded, still glaring at the woman. "Mai, tea."

Mai sighed in annoyance, but went to do as told. She'd let Alex try to convince Naru to move base. By the time she returned with two cups of tea, Alex was talking with Naru about moving.

"Thank you Mai. Will you tell this hard-headed numbskull about the creature that almost made you dinner last night?" Alex sipped at the hot tea and refused to look at Naru who was glaring at her again.

Lin observed them. It was obvious that Mai didn't want the two fighting. What was also obvious was how much the two young women looked alike. It was almost as if the were sisters, but Mai didn't have any siblings. He typed what Mai said as she described what had happened the night before. Alex added in her own comments on the things she had done and how she knew Mai was in trouble in the first place.

"So you claim to be a witch?" Naru asked, still glaring at Alex. He was glad she had saved and protected Mai, but angry at himself for not realizing she needed help and being there to save her.

"Yes, though I don't broadcast that. People already think I'm strange because of what I've chosen to do with my life." Alex replied.

"What do you know of what goes on here?" Naru asked. He received the same tale as Mai had last night.

"Do you understand now why I'm offering up my home for your use? You can even use the horses and ATVs to cover those trails. The service roads see little to no activity. Besides, the creatures and spirits can't step foot on my property. They can't tempt anyone out to where they can get them."

Naru nodded slowly. "Very well." He assigned people top bring in the cameras and other equipment. Alex grinned and whistled. A fox stepped out of the trees.

"Loki, bring Hero and Leo here." The fox nodded his head. Alex thanked him, stroking his head before he disappeared. "I need to know where you have things set up so I can help. Mai can show me."

"Very well, who are Hero and Leo?" Naru didn't necessarily trust the woman yet.

"Two of my three horses." Alex explained. "Leo took a liking to Mai last night," she smirked wickedly, "he's named Leo for a reason."

It took the horses, Loki guiding them, twenty minutes to arrive. Alex mounted Hero easily, patting the mare's neck affectionately. She basically lifted Mai onto Leo's back. The tawny brown gelding fidgeted a bit, used to Alex's heavier weight, but calmed as Mai settled on his back. Neither horse bore tack. Alex didn't need it.

"Come on," she whistled two different notes. Loki disappeared with one and the horses began trotting with the other. Alex waved cheekily back at Naru. Mai was to busy holding on to Leo to notice.

Naru restrained a growl. He wanted to follow them, badly. Mai had said once that she loved him. He had told her that she was in fact in love with Gene, his dead twin brother. When he had returned to Japan, Mai was still there, still single, and more then ready to begin work as his assistant once more. Neither of them had mentioned Mai's confession or Naru's response. Now this older Mai-look-alike was dragging his assistant through a most definitely haunted forest where Mai, _his Mai_, had already been attacked once.

Takigawa grinned. Naru was jealous that someone else had Mai's attention. Maybe this would get the stubborn boy to admit how he really felt about Mai. A blind man could see how she clearly felt for the narcissistic teen. He returned to packing up. He wondered if any of the others had noticed.


	3. Chapter 3

Forest Secrets

Chapter III

I do not own Ghost Hunt. I own the plot and any OC people in this story only.

* * *

"Here," Alex pointed out the dangling charm on one of the trees. "Cross over and you're on my grounds. A five minute ride up this trail and you'll actually be in my yard."

Mai nodded. "Do you know why your charms keep the creatures out?"

"I can speculate," Alex told the girl. Mai just blinked at her. "It means that I can guess, but I'm not sure."

"So what's your guess?" Mai asked, filing away the new word. One day she would master English further then reading and understanding it.

"The power behind the magic," Alex explained. "I use mine to protect, heal, that sort of thing. Light, or good, magic is how it would be termed. The creatures are beings of dark, or evil, magic." Alex snorted. "Narrow-mindedness, that sort of thinking. Magic itself isn't good or evil."

Mai cocked her head, curious. "So what makes it good or bad?" Naru was never this forthcoming with information. He'd probably make a very poor teacher.

"The person's intent." Alex told her.

Mai frowned in thought. Leo followed Alex and Hero. All she had to do was hang on. She'd never thought she'd ever ride a horse, but she was learning quickly. She wondered what it would be like using a saddle instead of bare-back. She finally spoke.

"So what a person wants to do is what causes the magic to be good or bad?"

Alex nodded. "Yes. Emotions and control are big parts when it comes to using magic. Any truly strong emotion effects a spell and how well it works."

"So if you didn't want to protect something, your spell wouldn't work?" Mai enjoyed not being called stupid for not knowing something.

"Not necessarily," Alex helped Mai gather up the camera they had passed on the way to her charm. "It could just as easily be weak or easily overcome by a stronger power if not broken completely. Magic is a form of energy, of power. It's in everything and can be calculated in some forms."

"It sounds complicated." Mai now held the camera, meaning she had to use her legs to guide Leo.

Alex laughed. She was carrying everything else. "It is, but it can also be extremely simple. It depends on what you want to do and how much effort you're willing to put into it." She glanced around the trees. "Mai, is this the only camera on this trail?"

"Yes," Mai replied, looking around and trying to figure out why Alex was suddenly uneasy.

"Hold on tightly," was Mai's only warning as Alex whistled and nudged Hero into first a trot and then into a cantor.

A roaring filled the forest and Mai didn't have to look back to know something was coming towards them.

"Yah!" Alex shouted, casing the horses to increase to a full out gallop. She whistled three different notes, all three charms glowing as three different animal spirits appeared either running or flying beside them. Alex gave three orders, none of which Mai understood. The owl flew ahead, the fox disappeared among the trees, and the tiger turned around to attack the creature behind them.

They burst into camp, Mai nearly dropping the camera when Leo came to a stop near Naru.

"There's one of those creatures behind us," Mai gasped out as Takigawa took the camera from her. Naru yanked her off the horse just as the beast turned to face what was coming from the trees.

Alex whistled again, Loki appearing. She gave quick, terse orders to the fox. Loki lead the horses into the forest as Alex kneeled into the dirt near the fire pit and hastily began to scratch something into the dirt. She muttered as she did so, drawing on her own power as well as that of the owl and Tiger who had come to either perch on her or sit beside her. A flare of light surrounded Alex before spreading out to cover everyone.

A dark form surged out of the trees and headed towards Mai. Naru shoved her behind him. Mai wasn't sure if it was the same creature as last night, but it looked basically the same except in sharper detail. If asked now, Mai would have described as a malformed wolf larger then any wolf she had ever seen. The creature never reached them.

About four feet away, it ran into a barrier. It roared in pain as it was tossed away. It crouched, growling, as it searched them for whoever was stopping it from capturing its prey. It set its eyes on Alex, who was still kneeling beside the fire pit with her eyes closed. The creature leapt, but Fang surged to her paws and intercepted, tearing into the creature with fangs and claws alike. The creature smacked Fang aside.

Alex cried out in pain as Fang landed. Naru barely spared the woman a glance as Mai gasped. A line a blood had appeared on Alex's cheek which as quickly becoming surrounded by a bruise. The woman began speaking again. Loki appeared once again and Kavi flew to join her two companions. They merged, and this time a dragon intercepted the attacking creature.

Faced with something it was either afraid of or it knew it couldn't fight, the creature ran off. The three animal spirits separated and faded out of existence as Alex ended her spell. She collapsed onto her back and took deep lungful of air. She opened her eyes to find Lin standing over her.

"Were you trying to kill yourself?" He asked her, glaring at her.

Alex smirked at him. "Nope. However, could you please help me up?"

Lin helped the woman up. She wobbled for a few moments before her legs steadied and she stood on her own. She scuffed out the symbol she had drawn, making sure she removed all of it.

"Thank you," she turned to observe those staring at her. "Should I say 'boo' or something?"

"What did you do?" Mai asked, watching as Ayako brought out the first aid kit. The girl frowned a bit at the fact that someone (probably Bou-san) had written her name on it.

"Shield spell," she answered, "quickly done, which I do not recommend by the way." She looked around. "Can we please go now? I doubt I'll be able to pull that off again."

Mai went with Alex to her truck. "Why didn't your spells tire you last night?"

Alex grinned. "They did, but the spells I used last night were prepared. All I really had to do was activate them. What I did earlier was a raw spell, one to use instantly and took quite a bit of power. Not all of them do. If it was only myself and maybe another person, it wouldn't have been much different then a simple activation. However, I was protecting eight, using a raw spell. That uses more energy, mainly from the castor who acts as a channel for the magic."

"Are you alright?" Mai was worried for her new friend.

"I'm fine, it's just been awhile since I've done something this." She sighed. "I'm ready to go whenever your friends are. You'd better go tell them, if that idiot boss of yours still wants my help."

Not exactly understanding why Alex was being suddenly withdrawn, Mai nodded, smiled at the older woman, and went to tell the others. Takigawa was driving the RV while the others, bar Naru who rode instead with Mai and Alex, rode with Lin in the van that carried the more sensitive equipment.

When they arrived at Alex's home, Mai finally got a good look at the place. She knew there were three stories, the room Alex had placed her in last night had been on the third floor. What Mai hadn't realized was the sheer size of the house. It was all made from red brick, but the shutters were painted gray to deviate from the red. It was a large house for one person.

"The women can all sleep on the third floor," Alex was speaking. "The men can have the second floor. The kitchen, living room, dining room, and game room are all on the first floor. My office is there at well, you can use that for your base if you wish. The attic is all storage space and the basement is off-limits unless I tell you otherwise." She glanced at them. "Com on in, I'll give you the tour." She entered her home and left the door open.

Mai glanced at Naru, wondering what he was thinking. Naru caught her staring.

"Start unloading the equipment," he ordered. Naru entered the house. He found Alex in the kitchen preparing tea from a canister. She looked up at him.

"Would you like a cup, or is Mai the only person allowed to make you tea?" She stared him in the eyes, waiting his response.

"Where is your office Ms. Moxie?" Naru asked instead.

"It's Alex," she replied, "this way." She led him to the backmost room. The walls were covered with shelves filled with books. A large desk took up half of one wall where a computer sat along with a printer/scanner and a set of marked shelves for papers. There was a large table in the center of the room, empty except for a stack of books on one end. Alex picked them up and shelved them.

"Where are the outlets?" Naru scanned the room, but honestly didn't see any.

"Here," she went to the book shelves along the opposite wall from her desk. The bottom shelves were all empty. Tapping the back of the shelf, the back panel popped off to revel a row of outlets. "I rarely use these, but they're on their own circuit. You won't overload anything even if you use all of them." She grinned at him knowingly. "Believe me, I've tried."

Naru merely nodded. He headed back to show his team where they could begin to place the equipment. Lin was much happier (not that anyone could really tell) inside an actual house then he was in the trailer.

Once all of the equipment was brought it, Naru sat down with the maps to begin naming areas where he wanted cameras set up. He had brought wireless cameras for this case. They had worked well last night, so he knew they were working.

Alex had disappeared after showing them their rooms and where the bathrooms were on each floor. The bathroom on the third floor was smaller then the other two. When asked, she explained that was because the master bedroom had its own bath attached to it. Everyone of SPR could hear Alex moving around the house, most liking setting up the bathrooms and bedrooms for actual use.

Naru didn't want to send his people out without protection. He had Ayako making protection charms. He set Lin, Takigawa, and John to finding out how to go about exorcising the creatures as well as figuring out what they were exactly. Masako was reading a book she had picked up from one of the shelves. Naru had sent Mai to make him his tea then to help Alex.

"Naru," Mai entered the office (which reminded her more of a library then an office), "Alex wants to know what everyone would like for dinner. She's making sandwiches for lunch now."

Naru didn't acknowledge her, not that she really expected him to do so. The others all had suggestions, and Mai wondered if Alex would even know how to prepare the type of food they were used to. She went back to the kitchen, making sure she remembered what everyone had told her.

Alex laughed when she heard what they all wanted. "Well, I'm sure I can make something. I'll most definitely will have to go to the store though. I'm lucky I had enough stuff for sandwiches." She handed one tray to Mai while she picked up the other. "Does anyone drink coffee?"

"Bou-san does," Mai said, "I think John and Ayako do as well."

Alex sighed. "I don't have a coffee maker, much less coffee." She frowned. "I guess I'll add instant coffee to the list."

"Or you could just let them go without," Mai jumped a bit, not recognizing the voice.

"Kavi, be nice," Alex motioned for Mai to look up and the ceilings rafters. Kavi was perched on one of them.

"You're being to nice," the owl said instead.

Alex sighed. "Please excuse Kavi, she is very _opinionated_."

"She can talk?" Mai hadn't known that. Certainly Lin's shiki never made any sounds.

"They can all talk, though usually they don't do so in front of other people." Alex balanced the try on one hand and held out her arm. Kavi landed on it and then moved herself to Alex's shoulder.

"You need someone to look out for you," the owl muttered. "You don't know everything and you can't protect everyone."

"I'm very well aware of that," Alex returned. "I'm twenty four, not fourteen. I've learned plenty since then."

"Yes feather brain," Loki made his appearance. He was the only male spirit Alex had. "You should learn to be quiet and keep your opinions to yourself."

Kavi fluffed herself up and glared at the fox. Loki licked his lips, eyeing Kavi as if she would be his next meal.

"Oh do be quiet, the both of you," Fang slinked out of the shadows. "No one wants to hear your chatter."

Alex sighed and gave two sharply whistled notes. All three animals faded out of sight and the three charms around Alex's neck glowed briefly before returning to normal. Mai noticed a fourth charm on a different string. This one was of a dragon, almost exactly like the one who had chased off the creature.

"Do they do that often?" Mai asked, walking behind Alex.

"Not really," Alex explained. "They're a part of me, but also their own selves They don't serve me, they're guides and protectors as well as my companions."

Mai nodded. It would be nice to have something like that. Then she would never be alone again. "Have they always been with you?"

Alex grinned. It was rare she met someone who asked questions because they truly wanted to learn from her. She like Mai and wanted to protect her.

"In a way they have. The parts of me that attracted them to me have always been there. It's a bit difficult to explain," she propped the door open and held it so that Mai could enter. "I have a few books on the topic, one of which is in English and another in Japanese. You could read those while you're here. The rest are in Latin though, but I can explain anything you don't understand."

Mai smiled and nodded. "I would love to."

"Mai, tea," Naru ordered, barely glancing at the two women. Well, woman and girl. Mai was only barely seventeen.

"Already ahead of you," Alex commented to herself as Mai got Naru his tea. She called everyone else t eat before placing two plates beside Lin and Naru. "I'm taking Mai with me to get groceries." She said louder. "I left charms on the doorknob for when you go out into the forest. One for everyone, just encase." She picked up her own sandwich and began to eat.

Naru glared at her and she ignored him. Alex was quickly becoming just as annoying as Madoka, something Naru had originally thought to be impossible. He didn't want Mai leaving his sight at the moment. Not when she'd already been attacked twice.

"Mai is staying here," Naru told the woman. After all, Mai was _his _assistant. That wasn't the actual reason he wanted Mai not to leave his sight, but he wasn't going to tell anyone that.

Alex shot him a grin that had the others moving away from her. "You could always come along. Though in my experience, men happen to hate shopping. You'd probably be bored out of your skull."

The two of them had a glaring battle. The others watched, waiting to see who would give in first.


	4. Chapter 4

Forest Secrets

Chapter IV

I do not own Ghost Hunt. I own the plot and any OC people in this story only.

* * *

"I can't believe Naru actually gave in," Mai said to herself. She looked at the charm dangling from her wrist. She could still feel Naru's eyes on her as she left with Alex after placing the charm on.

"Mai," Alex brought the girl's attention to her. "Come on, you probably know if anyone is allergic to anything, right?"

Mai nodded. "No one is really allergic to anything. But John-san won't eat mangos and Masako hates radishes."

Alex nodded. "Well, we'll avoid mangos and radishes then." She led Mai into a small grocery store where she greeted one of the cashiers in Spanish and another in English.

Mai watched in sheer awe as Alex filled the cart that Mai was pushing with things Mai hadn't eaten in years. Alex greeted several people she knew from the local high school where she taught, introducing Mai as an exchange student she was hosting.

"Alex?" The older girl turned to her. "Why are you telling everyone I'm an exchange student?" Mai would have loved to do something like that, but knew she would never be able to afford it. Besides, she doubted Naru would ever let her do something like that. Who would make him his tea?

"No one will question an exchange student," she explained. They both were speaking in Japanese, which Mai was grateful for. "They would question it if I said you were with the group that were investigating the haunting in the forest. It isn't something people around here like to talk about."

"Oh," Mai said, understanding. "Are you sure we need all of this?" She waved her hand at the almost over-loaded cart.

Alex grinned. "Yes, I'm absolutely certain. I'll begin cooking when we get home and everything is put away." She looked Mai over. "Haven't you ever gone camping before?" She was talking about Mai's lack of camping gear and camping friendly clothing.

"Not since my dad died," Mai said softly.

Alex nodded. "We'll just have to take care of that then."

"No!" Mai waved her hands in front of her. "That isn't needed Alex. I doubt I'll ever use them after this case. Please, don't waste your money on me."

Alex frowned. If her suspicions were correct, then technically she would be Mai's guardian. That would mean it was her job to provide for the younger girl. Frankly, even if her suspicions were wrong, she'd probably do it anyway.

"Don't worry about it. I _enjoy_ buying things for people. It's why I like cooking so much." She smiled. "I have very few friends Mai, but the ones I do have are very close to me. Please don't deny me a little fun."

Mai blushed. She wasn't used to this sort of thing. She was far more used to fending for herself for everything and sometimes even going without. Naru probably wasn't even aware of how much his giving her a job meant to her.

"Alright," Mai had never been one to purposely cause her friends distress. So she gave in. She was rewarded with the large, happy smile Alex gave her.

By the time they checked out, Mai had several new pairs of jeans, a pair of sturdy boots, several new shirts, two vests (one with multiple pockets), and a hat. She refused to look at the final total for the purchase. She knew if she saw the price that she would want to pay at least a little of it back.

"Come on Mai," Alex brought the girl's attention back to her. "Let's get back to base. I'm sure by now Naru want's tea."

"Did you get your student a cat for a welcoming gift?" The cashier joked with Alex. "Haven't you got enough felines running around your place?"

"One can never have to many cats," Alex retorted back. "Besides, only three of them are actually mine. Naru belongs to Mai-chan."

The man laughed and said something in Spanish. Alex replied back, smirking a bit. Mai watched the exchange while wondering how many languages Alex actually knew. She asked once they were out of the store and loading the back of Alex's truck.

"Four," Alex replied. "English, Japanese, Latin, and Spanish. All useful considering that I finished two of my Masters degrees in Japan and another in Spain."

"How many degrees do you have?"

Alex grinned. "A Masters in Education, one in Chemistry, another in English Literature. I have a bachelors in Japanese, Latin, and Spanish along with an associates degree in accounting."

Mai blinked. "How?"

Alex shrugged. "I finished high school at the age of twelve and my first round of college by the time I was sixteen. By then I had my associates and two bachelors. By the time I was twenty, I had all of them. I've been teaching for three years."

"Wasn't that hard?" Mai asked. She knew Naru had a doctorates degree and that he had gotten it young.

Alex shrugged. "My parents didn't care. It kept me out of their home and away from my sisters who weren't as smart as I am. They hate me for it, so I rarely talk about it. My grandmother was actually my guardian from the age of twelve until I was eighteen. She's the one who taught me about being a witch."

Mai nodded. Obviously, it had been hard. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

Alex shrugged. "It wasn't all bad. It would have been worse, had I actually been related to them."

"You were adopted?" Mai was curious now. Maybe this had something to do with how much she and Alex looked alike.

"Yea," Alex started the truck. "What about you? What's your family like?"

Mai shrugged. "My parents died when I was younger. What did you mean earlier, when you referred to Naru as a cat?"

Alex grinned, glad for the change in subject. "I have a tendency to turn people into things. If Naru doesn't watch it, I'll turn him into a kitten."

Mai blinked at her before a sudden image of a tiny black kitten with blue eyes entered her mind. She tried to stifle her giggling, but lost it when the kitten began to glare in her mind.

* * *

When they reached the edge of the forest service road that would lead them to Alex's home, Alex flipped on the headlights. Mai didn't understand why, but refrained from saying anything as energy seemed to fill the cab of the truck.

"Mai, carefully climb into the backseat and lay down out of sight. No matter what, don't sit up."

Mai nodded and did as told. She could feel that something wasn't right. The hairs on the back of her neck were raised and she shivered.

Growling caused the air to tremble. Mai shrank into the seat. She recognized the growl from the two previous attacks. Why did the ghosts _always_ seem to attack her? What had she ever done to get some sort of cosmic sign that told spirits and the like that she was a good target, and in this case a good snack?

"Hold on tight," Alex warned just before she accelerated. Mai squeaked as she clutched the seat. She didn't look up. She felt every turn. A dew times she thought they would actually tip over from the speed they were going.

Mai felt the change when they entered Alex's home ground. All presence of evil left. Alex brought the truck to a complete halt, jarring them both. Mai, not strapped in, fell to the thinly carpeted floor of the cab.

"Are you alright?" Alex turned to look at the girl.

"Yes," Mai slowly sat up, rubbing her head. "Was it the same creature?"

Alex nodded grimly. "I don't like this at all. The activity is increasing. Two attacks in basically broad daylight has never happened before. Usually the creatures only come out during the night."

"We need to tell Naru." Mai felt like there was ice in her veins. Even if Naru didn't love her, he always made her feel safe and protected.

Alex nodded. "Go inside, get me some help in unloading the groceries and whatnot. You stay inside the house."

Mai nodded. Most likely Naru would tell her the same thing. Unknown to her, Alex was inwardly cursing Naru.

Was the young man that dense? Had he never thought to train Mai's abilities? Alex growled. She would need to take measures to ensure Mai's safety immediately.

She reflected back on the time she had spent with Mai so far. The girl had power. She was lucky that it hadn't gotten away from her before now.


	5. Chapter 5

Forest Secrets

Chapter V

I do not own Ghost Hunt. I own the plot and any OC people in this story only.

* * *

Alex checked on everyone later that night, ensuring they all slept. Lin and Naru were both still awake, barely registering Alex when she came by. Despite them being awake, she knew what she would have to do.

"Mai," she gently woke the girl up.

"Alex?" Mai said tiredly, "Is everything alright?"

"Yes and no," Alex met Mai's brown eyes with her own. "I need you to come with me."

"Why?" Mai sat up to look at the slightly taller woman.

Alex sighed. "I need to tell you some things, and discover some things for myself. We also need to get you better protection then what you have now. Please, come with me?"

Mai nodded, curious. It looked slightly strange, since she was in her pajamas while Alex was dressed as she had been that day. The only difference was that her feet were bare. With surprise, Mai realized that Alex made little to no noise as she moved.

Alex led Mai to the basement. Once there, she turned on the lights and Mai blinked in surprise. Half of the basement was a science lab. The other half, where the concrete ended, was obviously devoted to Alex's magic.

"This is where I do most of my spell work," Alex explained. "Mostly preparing spells for later use, but not always. I meditate here as well, the circle is for that." She pointed out the stone circle set to one side, away from everything else. Niches for candles formed a rough star shape. Alex went to the table, choosing five candles and a lighter.

"What are you doing?" Mai asked, confused and slightly scared.

"With the candles, or by bringing you down here?" Alex asked, beginning to place the candles.

"Both," Mai hazard. She blinked when all three of Alex's spirit animals appeared.

"The candles are part of the circle. Red represents fire, blue for water, white for air, purple for spirit, and green for earth." Alex stood up straight. "As for bringing you down here, I'm going to show you how to meditate and then we're going to try and find your spirit animal, or animals if that happens to be the case." She glanced at her three. "I'll warn you though, it is very rare for a person, no matter who they are, to have more then one. I'm one of the rare cases, even rarer because together my guardians form a fourth guardian."

Mai nodded in understanding. "What about the spirit guide I already have?"

Alex shook her head. "This won't affect him. I already made sure of that." She assured the girl. "I'll be the only one in the circle with you. Fang, Kavi, and Loki will be guarding us from outside the circle." Alex picked up several lumps and handed them to Mai. "Hold these, even if nothing happens to it, at least one will remain in your hand once we've finished." She watched Mai for a few moments. "Are you alright with this? We won't do it if you don't wish to."

Mai was thinking. She understood why Alex wanted to ensure her protection. She attracted trouble without even trying, much less actually wanting to. She trusted Alex almost as much as she trusted Naru.

"What makes you certain this will work?" Mai asked softly. She wasn't a witch. Yes, she had ESP, but it wasn't something she could control. Even if she was fully aware of what exactly her power entailed, the only person she would know to ask for help from was Naru and he'd more then likely call her an idiot.

Alex didn't smile or grin. Instead, she entered the chemistry lab and went to one of the file cabinets. Taking out a small key, she unlocked the very top drawer and pulled out a thin file.

"This is why," she handed the file to Mai.

Mai set the lumps down so that she could take the file. Opening it, she blinked at the photo on the first page. It was of Alex, age three. As Mai read, her hands began to tremble. Looking through the rest of it, her eyes landed on a picture. The child was obviously Alex, even though she wasn't even a week old yet. The other two people Mai knew. They were her parents.

"How?" Mai wasn't really asking Alex, just thinking out loud. She had a sister, an older sister who obviously her parents had given up for adoption. Why had they done such a thing? She knew her parents had loved her when they were alive. Neither of them had made any mention of having had any other children.

"I don't know." Alex answered anyway. "Until now, I wasn't even sure myself. You're reaction makes it pretty clear though."

"I don't understand," Mai said slowly, still reeling from this discovery. "We're sisters?"

"Looks like it." Alex sighed. "I won't interfere in your life Mai. If you want, this will never leave this room. Nothing will change except that we'll know we have an actual blood relative still living."

Mai took a deep breath of air and shook her head before smiling brightly at Alex. "I'm sorry, its just that I've been alone so long I've gotten used to it."

"I know the feeling," Alex told her. "So do you want to do this?"

Mai nodded. "Show me what to do."

Alex did. Mai's last coherent memory before falling into a trance was of Alex as the woman held her hands.

* * *

_Mai blinked, looking around her as the mist and darkness cleared. She found herself in a brightly lit forest during early morning. She felt small, tiny compared to how she was when she was human sized. She was sitting on a tree branch of a sakura tree. It was springtime, and she could smell the new growth of the cherry blossoms._

_Mai suddenly felt herself moving, running to the end of the tree branch where she leapt off. Instead of being scared, she felt herself snap out her legs. Flaps of skin spread out and caught the air, Mai glided to another branch. _

_She did this several times until she landed on the ground. Her vision changed as she grew bigger, bulkier. She began to run. _

_Fierce joy flowed thru Mai as she ran, easily and swiftly, through the trees. She howled in joy at the feeling. Other howls, those of her pack, answered her. Mai ran until she reached a cliff and she leapt off._

_This time when she landed, she was surrounded by tall, brown grass. She blended in, hunting for her pride, her family. Padding slowly, she changed direction until she reached a cave of sorts. She entered and padded to the very back where her body rested. _

_Staring at her human body, Mai realized a small squirrel was resting on her shoulder. A large black wolf lay close by keeping watch. Mai set her lioness paw on the place where her heart would be._

* * *

Mai came back to herself with a gasp. Alex was carefully prying her hands open. Mai blinked at her for a few seconds, not understanding why Alex wanted her to relax her hands. The she felt small pinpricks on her palms and she relaxed her hands.

Three charms fell into her lap. A copper lioness, a pewter wolf, and a bronze squirrel. Mai blinked at them.

"Three," Alex breathed. "Impressive. Let me break the circle and we'll get them onto something. Would a necklace be alright with you?"

Mai nodded, not trusting herself to speak just yet. Alex grinned at her. Carefully, in the reverse order of the way she lit and set them, Alex took care of the candles and broke the circle. She helped Mai to stand and led her to the table.

"Pick out three, one for each charm. Once they are around your neck, no one else may touch them without your permission. To do so is considered disrespectful and outright rude."

"Okay," Mai finally spoke, her voice hoarse.

"I'll be right back." Alex disappeared as Mai looked over the strings.

She picked out a tawny brown for the lioness, remembering how she had blended into the tall grasses of the African savannah. "Sade," Mai whispered to herself as she paired the two but didn't tie off the ends of the string. She picked up a very dark, almost black, blue string for the wolf. "Kana," she named him, placing the duo beside the first pair. The last charm was paired with a pink string that matched the shade of new sakura blossoms. "Sora," Mai named the squirrel.

"Drink this," Alex took the ends of all three strings and tied them. Deftly, as Mai watched, she braided them together until Mai had a necklace. Alex placed it on her. "Never take this off," she told her younger sister (she liked the feeling that thought brought her). "Don't worry about it wearing out, or rusting, or anything else. It won't happen."

Mai nodded. The drink had warmed her. "Thank you for this, nee-chan." Mai was smiling as she said this. She liked having someone to call sister that was actually her sister.

"You're welcome," Alex placed her hand on Mai's head, "but it isn't needed. Even if I'd been wrong about you being my sister, I still would have done it." Alex smiled. "However, you are my sister so that just makes it better."

Mai could only smile. "What time is it?" She yawned, suddenly feeling far more tired then when Alex had woken her up.

"A little after two AM." Alex replied. "Come on, I'll get you back into bed. Naru will just have to deal with my tea for tomorrow. You need to sleep."


	6. Chapter 6

Forest Secrets

Chapter VI

I do not own Ghost Hunt. I own the plot and any OC people in this story only.

* * *

Naru was not happy. Mai was still asleep and he needed his tea. However, Alex was refusing to allow anyone to disturb Mai. Instead, she had taken control of the kitchen and told _him_ to go back to bed for another hour. Naru, being Naru, had taken a seat at the kitchen table to glare at the older version of his Mai.

"Here," Alex placed a warm cup of tea in front of him. "Most likely not your usual, but it'll have to do you until Mai wakes up."

Naru glared at her and ignored the tea. "Why are you telling me how to manage my employees?" He demanded to know.

"I'm not," Alex had returned to making whatever it was that she was making. "Just Mai. She'll tell you why if she wants to." Alex hoped Naru couldn't see her smirk. "If you don't stop glaring at me, I'll turn you into a kitten."

"I doubt that," Naru told her, his voice ice cold.

Alex turned to face him. "A tiny black kitten with big blue eyes, just big enough to fit into Mai's pocket. Maybe even with a bright pink collar." She smiled at him. Not one of her bright smiles that made the person she was giving it to feel comforted, but one that almost made Naru want to run away as fast as he possibly could. "If I'm not to annoyed, I might even give you a flea collar as well."

Naru, never one to admit he was intimidated, merely frowned at her and went to the base room. Lin was already there, reviewing the footage they had taped last night.

"Anything?" Naru sat down to begin his own review. Lin didn't say anything. Naru took his silence as a negative. Just as well. Naru wasn't in the mood to really deal with anything yet. Mai was still sleeping (he didn't pay her to sleep, not when she needed to be up in order to assist him, which was her job in the first place).

These thoughts were broken by a loud screaming that tore thru the house. Naru had barely registered who had screamed before he was out of the chair he was in and running to the room Mai was staying in. Alex and Lin ended up behind him.

Alex shouted a single word and Mai's door burst open. Her spirit animals entered the room before any of them, Naru right behind. Alex roughly pushed past him and shook Mai fully awake.

"Hey, it's okay. You're awake." Alex spoke softly. Mai clutched onto her, body shaking as she sobbed.

Naru blinked as a Japanese dwarf flying squirrel perched itself on Mai's shoulder and appeared to be offering comfort. A lioness and a wolf also stood nearby. All three animals had the same translucent quality of Alex's spirit animals. Since when did Mai have them?

Lin was having much the same reaction as Naru. He had questioned Alex on her ghostly companions the day before, after the others had gone to bed. He understood the principles behind them. Glancing at the squirrel, he knew it represented Mai's love of freedom and her independence. The girl was loved having fun and had, he had to admit, in his head at least, that Mai also tended to have a squirrel's temper. The wolf represented the part of Mai that wanted to protect those she loved at all cost as well as her love of family, not to mention that wolves were loyal to their pack. The Lioness was a provider, but also able to blend in and be patient. Not many people would describe Mai as patient, but one had to be so in order to be able to deal with Naru for any great length of time. From the looks of both predators, they were alphas. Lin would bet almost anything that the wolf was the mal out of the three.

"I saw what happened," Mai whispered once she had managed to calm herself down. She reached up and lightly petted Sora. "When the creatures came into being on this plane, I saw it."

Alex's eyes closed as she winched. She had only seen the aftermath, but that had been gruesome enough as it was. "Come on to the kitchen, I'll get you some tea and you can tell us. Alright?" Mai nodded.

Lin went to retrieve his laptop. When he returned to the group, Naru had replaced Alex beside Mai. Alex was making tea from one of the hand-labeled canisters for Mai and normal tea for the rest of them. Mai was telling Alex exactly how Naru liked his tea made.

Alex grinned, "I still doubt he'll drink it. Here, Lin-san." She set a cup of tea beside him. He nodded in thanks, but ignored the cup for the most part. He, like Naru, had gotten used to drinking Mai's tea.

Alex placed the other cups in front of Mai and Naru. Naru ignored the tea like before. Mai sipped at hers, feeling herself relax as she did so. She glanced at Alex. The woman shook her head.

"No magic, just basic herb lore and chemistry." Alex told her. She had her own notebook out. "You can tells us when ever you're ready."

Mai nodded and focused on her tea. Naru was beside her, Kana on the other side. Sade was laying at Mai's feet underneath the table. Sora was still perched on her shoulder.

"It was on a small island," Mai began. "Nothing seemed to grow there but grass and some shrubs. I could see all around it as the boys pulled up the bigger shrubs and tossed them into the river. When they had enough space, one of them began drawing a star enclosed inside a circle."

"What direction was it facing?" Alex asked, quickly writing details down.

"I think it was pointed towards where the road is," Mai told her, struggling to remember. Naru urged her to continue, seemingly ignoring Alex. "They had candles, the same ones that you used last night," Mai looked at Alex, who nodded in understanding. "Each of the boys held one candle and stood on a point of the star. The one with the Spirit Candle began speaking, I think it might have been Latin," Mai recalled the times she had heard Alex speak the language, "but it didn't sound right."

Alex groaned inwardly. This was beginning to sound worse then she had originally thought it to be. Obviously they had known something of what they had been doing. Mai continued.

"While the one boy spoke, this dark cloud like thing began to form in the center of the star. Then, after he stopped speaking, the creatures came out of the cloud," Mai paused, "I think they were the cloud. It was gone after the last creature had formed. The boy who had been speaking began again, but instead of doing what ever the boy had told it to do, each creature attacked a different boy." Mai's hands tightened on around her cup and she started to shake again. Softly, she told them the rest of the dream.

"So that's why they were all out when we got to your bedroom," Alex murmured. "They came to your defense in the dream, thus they manifested here as well." She nodded. "I'm glad we took care of that last night. Else wise, you might not have had the chance to wake up."

"Explain," Naru said darkly, leveling a glare once more at Alex.

"Those creatures eat souls," she told them. "What Mai dreamed last night happened two years ago on June 27, 2007. The first souls they devoured where those of the five idiots that summoned them." Alex returned Naru's glare. Then she blinked before standing up from the table and dashing out of the kitchen.

Alex blew past those just coming down the stairs. She shut the basement door with a slam.

"What happened?" Takigawa asked, looking at the three still sitting at the kitchen table. They had heard Mai cry out, but their doors had refused to open. Just as Takigawa ready to try and bust it down, ignoring that the door opened into the room, it had popped open on its own.

"We know how the creatures came into existence," Naru said calmly. "What took you so long to come down here?"

"The doors were all stuck," John said before anyone could begin to curse Naru. "Then they opened and let us out." He turned to Mai. "Are you alright?"

Mai nodded. "I'm alright now John-san." She smiled at him. Sora nodded her small head in agreement.

"Mai-chan's fine now!" The tiny spirit squeaked out. Everyone turned to stare at it. Sora squeaked and hid in Mai's sleep-mussed hair.

"Mai," Ayako said slowly, still trying to process what she had just seen, "why is there a talking squirrel hiding in your hair?"

Mai blushed, embarrassed at suddenly being the center of attention. She didn't know how to explain them. Alex had made it sound simple, but Mai had no idea how to do that.

"Idiots," Naru muttered. "They are Mai's spirit animals." He explained for his younger assistant.

At this point, Kana and Sade decided to make their presence known. John gaped at the lioness that slinked out from underneath the table to stand beside the wolf who was staring at them from beside Mai. It was almost like having two of Naru, since the wolf was solid black with blue eyes.

"When did this happen?" Masako asked, wondering why she wasn't able to sense the three animals. Not that she could sense Alex's spirit animals either, but then she hadn't known Alex for very long.

"Last night," Mai finally said, jumping slightly when a timer went off. She stood and entered the kitchen, Kana and Sade fading out as they returned to their charms around Mai's neck. Sora stayed in Mai's hair.

Mai pulled out a crumb cake from the oven. She placed it on the counter and retrieved plates from where she knew Alex kept them. She also got out the instant coffee, more tea, and cups. Soon, just like any other case, Mai had drinks prepared and served along with still hot pieces of the cake.

Debating with herself, she served a piece for Alex and prepared a cup of tea for her sister. Then, placing them on a tray, she went to the basement door and knocked. Steeling herself, Mai called out to get Alex's attention.

"Nee-chan, breakfast," Mai wondered if Alex had even heard her.

"I'll be there in a moment Mai-chan!" Alex called out. There was a small crash and then Alex shouted. "Found it!" She yanked open the door. "Thank you Mai-chan, let's go join the others. Has anyone fainted yet in surprise?"

No one had fainted, but the two girls did receive looks of surprise. They were bombarded with several questions until Alice whistled for their attention.

"We'll explain about Mai-chan and I being related later, right now I have the spell that summoned the creatures." She was grinning triumphantly. "With it, we should be able to reverse the spell!"

"How much time will you need to be prepare?" Naru asked, seeing no reason why they should stay, since Alex seemed to know how to take care of what was haunting, so the speak, the forest.

Alex blinked at him. "I can't perform the reversal until the night of the twenty-seventh. Even then, I'll need balances. This isn't a one person spell. I won't know everything I'll need until I review the spell."

"Very well," Naru turned to Lin. "We'll need to remove all of our equipment and prepare to ship it back to Japan and England."

Lin nodded. Alex watched as people were sent out in pairs to retrieve things. She was pleased to note that Naru kept Mai with him and Lin verses sending her out. She left them to their own devices.

"Naru," Mai caught her bosses attention, "we are going to help Alex, aren't we?" She mentally prepared herself to be called an idiot once again.

Naru just looked at her. Mai almost winched. Why did she always seem to be the one to ask the stupid questions?

"Mai, tea," Naru told her before going back to ignoring her.

Lin watched them and inwardly sighed. His charge was being an idiot. Mai was far more intelligent then she let on, even if most of her intelligence stemmed from instinct. Naru was just being stubborn, as usual, when it came to dealing with obvious emotions. The stoic Chinese man turned back to his laptop. Everything else in the base would be packed up into the trailer. His laptop would remain with him as it always did.

Mai sighed. Why did Naru persist in his belief that she thought herself in love with Gene? Mai knew she could be extremely stupid at times, but she was very aware of her emotions. Yes, Gene was kind, and cheerful, not to mention he actually knew how to smile. Yet, Mai reflected, if he hadn't looked so much like Naru, she more then likely wouldn't have trusted him to begin with. Naru was narcissistic, enjoyed teasing her, outwardly cold, the one who always saved her from whatever current nasty (this time excluded) had its sights set on her and her own stupidity, who was really the only one who could ever get her truly riled up, the one who drove her up the wall with his tea addiction, and was the one who had taught her probably more then he would ever realize since they had met two years ago.

She sighed and felt Sora nuzzle her. Mai smiled softly. If not for Naru, she would never have been able to meet Gene to begin with. She never would have met the rest of her SPR family. She never would have known that her nightmares were sometimes her ESP showing her something. Mai would never have discovered that she had an older sister. She would never have gotten involved with the supernatural or paranormal without her favorite narcissist.

"What has you so happy Mai-chan?" Sora squeaked in question. Mai blushed.

"Just thinking Sora-chan," Mai touched the top her head where Sora now perched. The ghost squirrel wiggled in joy as Mai pet her. Then she finally faded away, back into her charm.

Mai suddenly felt tired again. Blinking, she turned to Naru so that she could give him a fresh cup of tea. She never made it as she collapsed, the cup clattering to the floor. She never heard the others call out her name.

* * *

_Blinking, Mai opened her eyes. Naru was standing over her. Shaking her head, Mai realized that it was Gene, not Naru, who was standing there._

"_Gene?" She questioned, wondering why he had called her away._

_Gene smiled at her. "I have something I need to show you. I don't think it can wait."_

_Mai stood up, realizing that she was still in her pajamas. She sighed. Maybe she should begin wearing normal clothing to bed, having already lost three pairs of pajamas due to her dreams. She followed Gene._

"_Alex is working on reversing the spell," Mai told him, not knowing of what he would be aware of or not in the living world._

"_I know," He shook his head, grin still on his face. "Did she really threaten Noll?"_

_Mai giggled and nodded. "Yes, she told him that she would turn him into a kitten if he didn't stop glaring at her."_

_Gene tried and failed to stifle his laughter as he imagined a tiny black furred, blue eyed kitten glaring at everyone in place of his brother. "If she does it, make sure you take pictures."_

_Mai nodded, but when she opened her mouth to answer Gene motioned for her to stay silent. Mai turned her attention to where Gene was looking._

_It was one of the creatures. Not the one that had already tried three times (four if one wanted to count her previous dream) to eat her, but a different one. Watching it, Mai saw flickers of white from within the dark substance that the creatures were made of. Mai paled as the screaming started._

_The souls of the people the creatures had killed, the souls of those why for one reason or another had stayed in the forest, they were all trapped inside the creatures. _

"_You need to find a way to release the souls before you get rid of the creatures." Gene explained. "I don't think you'll be able to get rid of them otherwise."_

_Mai nodded. "I'll make sure to tell them," she promised him. Then she sighed and closed her eyes._

_When she opened them however, she was still with Gene. The boy watched her in surprise. Usually Mai could wake herself up. She looked at him in fear, not knowing what was wrong. Gene didn't know either. He only needed to show Mai that the souls of the dead were trapped._

"_Mai-chan!" Sora squeaked as she glided thru the air to land on Mai's head. "Don't run off like that again! Take one of us with you next time!"_

"_Calm down pipsqueak," Kana spoke, his voice deep with a growling undertone. "She's new at this."_

"_As are we all are," Sade's voice was smooth, almost like a purr. "Come now Mai, you're worrying quite a few people."_

_Gene blinked at the tree talking animals. If he didn't already know he was dead, he'd have thought himself to be dreaming._

"_Mai, why are there talking animals looking for you?" Gene asked, his face showing his surprise and disbelief._

_Mai giggled at his face. She'd never seen him look surprised before. It was almost as comical as Naru. "They're my spirit animals. Nee-chan showed me what to do to find them." Mai introduced them._

"_Next time you take our Mai-chan away, remember us!" Sora admonished him._

_This was surreal, even for a ghost. Gene nodded anyway._

"_I'll make sure to remember that." He would most definitely remember being told off by a squirrel. An idea entered his mind. "You should talk to Naru. Maybe he'll listen if a squirrel tells him something."_

_Mai managed to refrain from giggling at the picture Gene's comment formed. Sade nudged her charge's hand, bringing her attention back to the fact that she needed to wake up. _

_Once more, Mai closed her eyes. _

* * *

When her eyes opened this time, she found herself staring at the ceiling of her bedroom in Alex's house. She blinked, attempting to sit up. Sora was sitting on her chest, not that she really weighed anything. Sade and Kana had returned to their charms.

"Mai-chan's awake!" The little ghost cried out in joy, happy that they had been able to bring the girl back from the astral plane.

Sora's cry brought everyone in the house to Mai's bedroom. Ayako immediately set about checking the younger girl out. Takigawa had already hugged, Sora scurrying to get out of the way. John and Masako entered, glad to see that Mai was awake and alright. Naru and Lin entered last. Both men were relieved that Mai was awake and unharmed bar the cuts that she had received from the broken tea mug and a few small scalded areas from the hot tea.

Kavi flew in to land on the head board. Alex followed, worry clear on her face that left once Mai had smiled at her.

"Please don't ever scare me like that again Mai-chan," Alex looked the girl over. "Are you alright?"

"Hai," Mai replied. She told them all what Gene had needed to show her. Alex cursed once her sister was finished.

"I'm sorry I didn't warn you," Alex apologized once she was done cursing. "I should have told you about that, but I didn't even think about it." She glanced around the room, realizing that she had everyone's attention. After, this was Mai's family, far more then she was even with blood ties.

"As I told Mai before, a spirit animal is both a part of a person and a separate entity. Mai and I are two rare cases where we have more then one, I'm even rarer because my three form a fourth. As Mai has already discovered, she needed hers in order to return from the astral plane. Before, they were simply a part of Mai and thus served no real purpose as they didn't have definitive forms or names. Now that they do, they effect every aspect of Mai's power and what it can do." Alex looked at them to see if they understood.

Mai obviously did, as she was now sitting up with Sora taking what was quickly becoming her normal perch on top of the girl's head. Lin was looking between the two of them as if he was trying to figure something else out. Naru wasn't looking at anything in particular, but Alex had a feeling that the majority of his thoughts centered around Mai.

"Why can I not sense them?" Masako leveled her own stare at Alex.

"Technically, they're not ghosts or even actual spirits. They're extensions of ones own soul. When one dies, their spirit animal goes with them, melding once more into one solid being. A persons strongest trait, or traits, give the extension form." Alex smirked. "For instance, because I know how, I can look at each of you and get a vague sense of what shape such an extension would form. The better I know a person, the stronger the connection, or even ones age can make it either clearer or harder."

John was listening with interest. He knew several in his faith who would outright deny the things he had seen and done. He knew one man who personally believed that Wiccan practices should be banned and those who practiced it done away with. John himself was interested in different religions and how they affect ones insight into both the supernatural and the paranormal. He could also see why Alex had chosen to become a teacher even with her high IQ level.

"If that is all, I have more work to do." Alex nodded to them, smiled at Mai, waited for Kavi to perch herself on Alex's shoulder, and then left the room.

Mai moved to get out of bed. She wanted a shower and clean clothing. Reassuring everyone that she was fine, Mai managed to get what she wanted.

Sighing, she pulled on one of the new outfits Alex had gotten her. She looked at herself in the mirror. Admittedly, it wasn't something she would have gotten for herself, but she at least thought she looked alright in it. The jeans were a dark blue denim with fairly big, loose pockets. The pants were a loose fit to begin with, but as she moved around Mai realized that the reason for it was the ease of movement. Her shirt was another matter. She had never really been one to wear shirts with writing on them.

This one was black with '_The horns are only there to hold up the halo_' written white outlined in dark blue above an evilly grinning smiley face with horns and a slightly dented halo. Who knew, maybe it would get a reaction out of Naru for once. Mai doubted that, but one never really knew when it came to Naru.

Dressed, Mai made her way to where the base was. Just about everything was packed away. Lin was using Alex's computer to print out shipping labels. Naru was sitting at the table with one of his black notebooks in front of him.

"Mai, tea," he ordered.

Mai sighed, rolled her eyes as she muttered about his manners, and went to make her narcissistic boss his tea. Sora, who was insisting upon staying n Mai's head, agreed. She also suggested telling the older teen that, but Mai only shook her head.

"It wouldn't do any good Sora-chan," Mai told her friend. "He'd only call us an idiot, then tell us to bring him more tea."

"Why does he make you so sad Mai-chan?" Sora asked. After all, she reflected Mai's curiosity, her temper, and her willingness to be able to forgive. It made sense for Sora to have those things in abundance.

Mai sighed, setting the water to boil. "He thinks I love his dead twin brother instead of him."

"You mean the boy you were talking to when we found you?"

"Hai, that was Gene." Mai told the squirrel. "I thought he was Naru for so long, it took me awhile to find the concrete differences between them."

"Do you love Gene?" Sora's head was cocked in interest.

Mai shrugged. "In a way, but he's also my friend. I love him in the same way as I do John and Bou-san. He's like a big brother."

"What about Naru?"

Mai sighed again, placing the tea bag into one of the cups she had gotten down. She'd already prepared Lin's tea. "I love him with everything I have, but he'll never believe me. If I told him again, he'd probably say something along the lines of him not being Gene and my lack of intelligence has caused me to take my love of the dead twin and attempt to give it to the live one."

Sora snickered. Mai was much smarter then she let people believe. "So why haven't you tried to love someone else?"

"I have," Mai admitted softly. "While Naru was in England and I thought he was never going to come back. I couldn't."

"What happened?" Sora could feel Mai's sadness, but this was something that needed to be said, and said now.

"He was as different from Naru as possible, but I kept comparing them anyway. The other boy didn't measure up." Mai sighed. "Not that it matters anyway. No one will ever measure up to Naru and I refuse to expect of anyone."

By now the tea was ready. Mai found one of Alex's serving trays and placed the cups on it. Everyone else was still gathering equipment from outside so Mai didn't need to worry about refreshments for them just yet. She picked up the tray and began to slowly walk to the base.

* * *

Naru frowned when Mai left the base. What on earth had she been wearing? Since when did Mai own any shirts with writing on them? Particularly English writing? Glancing briefly at his guardian, Naru stood up and left the base. He was fully intending to find out where Mai got the shirt, observe it, and tell her to change if it wasn't appropriate for work. He'd also remind her that they were still working, and would be until he said other wise.

He paused as he heard Mai and her squirrel spirit talking. Mai had finally introduced them to everyone, but Naru was not in the mood at the moment to recall it.

Naru was an outwardly unemotional person. Rarely did her ever allow his mask to fall around anyone. As he listened to the two converse in the kitchen however, he knew his face showed his surprise.

He felt anger at some other male touching _his_ Mai. Knowing that Mai wouldn't be in the kitchen forever, he quickly went back to the base. He had quite a bit to think over now. Mai was still in love with him…not Gene. His dead twin was like a brother to her, one that was a friend but nothing more.

Not that Gene, as a ghost, could ever be more. Unless Mai was to die of course, but Naru was never going to let that happen, not when he could prevent it.

Mai set his tea beside him and went to give Lin his. She didn't seem to notice Naru's stare. Once they both had tea, Mai left the room.

"Where are you going?" Naru's question (and Mai honestly thought it sounded like an actual question, not one of her boss's usual demands) caused her to turn around.

"I was going to see if Alex wanted any tea," Mai told him. "Unless you had something you needed me to do?" Mai couldn't think of anything she could do. Naru hadn't let her package anything for shipment here, so she had a hard time even thinking that he'd set her to do it now. She highly doubted he was going to send her to help the others outside, not when one of the creatures seemed intent on making Mai its next meal.

"No, but stay inside." Naru ordered, covering up the fact he had heard her in the kitchen speaking with Sora.

Mai frowned at him. Part of her wanted to tell him off, but she knew that he didn't want her hurt and that was why he was telling her. Most likely because he didn't want to find another assistant, but Mai could deal with that. It didn't hurt so much as long as Naru was a part of her life in some way.

"I wasn't planning on leaving, so no worries." She gave him one of her bright smiles, trying desperately to hide the pain hers and Sora's conversation had brought to the surface. She left the base and went to the basement.

Lin watched the interaction between the two teenagers. Usually the conversation would have ended up in an argument, but it didn't this time. He wondered what Naru had heard when he went to spy on Mai in the kitchen. Then he inwardly smiled. Mai's shirt had been interesting. He wondered if Naru would take it to heart.

"You could be nicer you know," Sora hadn't left with Mai. She was sitting in front of Naru.

Naru raised an eyebrow at the tiny squirrel. Somehow, he knew this was Gene's doing.

Sora snorted. "Idiot, I don't know what good talking to you will do. You're skull's so think, how is a squirrel supposed to get thru to you?" She shook her head. "Mai-chan loves you and you ignore her. You are a blind, idiotic human!" She snorted again. "Last time I follow a suggestion from a human spirit guide, no matter who he is."

Sora leapt off the table, glided to the floor and scurried away before Naru could actually respond. Naru stared after her. How had he just lost an argument with a squirrel? This was surreal, even for a ghost hunter.

Lin had to leave the room to hide his laughter.


	7. Chapter 7

Forest Secrets

Chapter VII

I do not own Ghost Hunt, only the plot and OC people

* * *

Mai watched as Alex went between her chemistry lab and her magic one. The older girl hardly said anything that Mai could understand. Alex seemed intent on mumbling in Latin.

Kavi stayed perched on one of the beams between the two labs. Sora had retaken her place atop Mai's head. All three of them wondered what Alex was doing as she never slowed down enough for them to get any hints.

"If you don't slow down," Kavi finally spoke, "you'll never be able to do anything."

Alex stopped and shot a glare at her owl spirit. "I'm stuck on how to remove the spirits, never mind how to purify them. The creatures I can deal with, I already have that mostly figured out." She growled, irritated. "However, I can't do anything about the creatures until the souls are taken care of."

Kavi sighed, which was odd as she didn't even really need to breathe. "Go play with the horses, maybe that will help." Alex opened her mouth to retort but Kavi interrupted her. "Take Mai with you. Use the tunnel so no one sees you."

"Fine," Alex closed her eyes. "Mai, do you want to come with me?"

"I told Naru I wouldn't leave the house," Mai told her, unwilling to break her promise.

Alex grinned. "That's why we take the tunnel. Technically, that's not leaving the house. It connects from here to the barn and back, no where else. It's perfectly safe and I use it during storms."

Mai thought about it. She had said that she wouldn't leave, but nothing that specific. "Alright, but shouldn't we tell the others?"

Alex shook her head. "No, if we run into trouble they'll know."

Alex led her thru a rock tunnel that went down and then up. They exited thru the ground in the tack room. Now Mai knew why the floor was clear in here. When the door was closed, you couldn't see where it was.

"How will we get back?" Mai asked, not seeing any way to open the door on this side.

"Press the third panel from the left on the shelf." Alex told her.

Mai did, jumping a bit in surprise at the grinding sound of gears as the door popped open. She blinked at it. This was cool. Somehow, she'd always expected her first secret passage way (not counting the Urado case) to be a terrifying experience.

"I know, Gran enjoyed showing it to me the first time I visited her. I've restored the barn and house since then, but I made sure to keep this. It was a good way to hide from my sisters. They never found it." Alex explained.

"How did it come to be here?" Mai asked, helping Alex gather up brushes and whatnot for grooming the three horses.

"How much do you know about American History?" Alex asked, watching as Mai began grooming Leo. Her tawny brown gelding was a very picky horse when it came to who tended him. He would usually bite, step on, spit on, or some combination of three on anyone other then Alex. Instead, he had taken to Mai almost instantly without even attempting to intimidate the younger girl.

"Not much," Mai admitted. "Mostly World War Two, but I don't remember much."

Alex nodded. She had expected that. "Well, the tunnel is part of the Underground Railroad." She grinned at Mai. "I've books in the office about it. I like history, but not enough to where I'd teach it beyond what relates to the current reading material I'm using in my classroom."

Mai sighed. "Naru is going to make fun of me if he catches me reading anything like that. Especially since technically we're working a case at the moment."

Alex nodded. "Who hired you guys anyway? Isn't this a bit far for a case?"

Mai shrugged. "I'm not sure who's paying us for this case. I know your sisters contacted Hikari-san about you missing and then she contacted us. Then Naru loads us on a plane and here we are."

Alex shook her head. "Tama was always concerned about me. I met her during one of my chemistry classes. She saw I was having trouble, being one of the youngest ones there, and took me under her wing." Alex shrugged. "She's one reason I speak Japanese so well, not to mention being able to read and write it passably well. It doesn't surprise me that she went to ghost hunters to find me." She laughed. "She could have just called, but she probably realized that I wouldn't answer the phone."

"Why wouldn't you have answered the phone?" Mai asked, finishing with Leo. Alex had already moved on to brushing Hero. Her sister was noticeably calmer.

"Avoiding my family," Alex explained. "I'm both independently wealthy from my own work and investments as well as an allowance from my adoptive father's company now run by my oldest sister, who, if she could, would cut me off. My grandmother left me this property and most of everything she owned with the instructions to do with it as I saw fit."

"Why do they hate you so much? Hikari-san wasn't happy with them when she spoke to us about them." Mai had always seen adoption as an act of love, giving a child a home and a family. In a way, she had kind of adopted the SPR members as family members. Except Naru of course.

"I'm far more intelligent then they are." Alex said blandly. "I was only adopted to insure the youngest daughter had a permanent playmate and someone to boss around and compete with. Unfortunately, that plan backfired. I succeeded almost without trying while the others were far more interested in being spoiled. I spent most of my time in the kitchen, knowing exactly why I had been adopted and hating every minute of it."

"Is that why you moved in with your grandmother?" Mai didn't like the harshness that had entered Alex's voice.

"Yes," she shook her head. "Gran was a dragon when she wanted to be. What she wanted always got done. She taught me a lot and loved me, gave me everything I needed and, I admit, she spoiled me at times." Alex smiled. "She would have adored you. She always said that I'd find my family member when I least expected it, and she was right."

Mai blushed. She would have liked to meet Alex's grandmother, never having had one of her own.

"Come on," Alex finished filling the feeding and water troughs. "Let's go get our own lunch."

* * *

Naru found them in the kitchen. Mai was smiling again, this time not trying to hid any darker emotions. Both of the young women had obviously been in the barn. He glared at Mai.

"I thought you weren't going to leave the house."

Mai jumped when he spoke. "I was never outside Naru," she replied, trying to return his glare and knowing that she was failing at it. "And I never said anything about not leaving the house, just that I wasn't leaving."

"She has a point," Alex broke in, "we were never outside and we're not telling how we got to the barn and back." She winked at Mai, "family secret."

Mai giggled. Alex had a lot of guts, standing up to Naru. Meanwhile, Naru was glaring at Alex.

"Mai, tea," he left the kitchen.

"I'll turn him into a cat yet," he heard Alex tell Mai, who giggled again.

"He'd bite you if you did," Mai commented.

Naru smirked. While the house was well lit for the most part, the place he stood in was dark. The perfect cover for someone who wanted to listen to what went on in the kitchen but not be seen.

"It wouldn't be the first time I was bitten by a cat." Alex replied. "Go take the king of narcissism his tea. I need to get back to work."

Naru quickly returned to the office. It wouldn't due to have himself caught. He had his own research to do.


	8. Chapter 8

Forest Secrets

Chapter VIII

I do not own Ghost Hunt, only my OC people and the plot

* * *

Two days later, with everyone gathered in the game room except Naru (who was researching something), Lin (who was tracking the shipment of equipment), and Alex (in the basement) gathered in the game room, Alex could be heard yelling.

It sounded like gibberish to them, but Mai (who was learning from the books Alex had given her to read) recognized the gibberish as Latin. Alex burst out of the basement, ash streaking one cheek.

"Alex, calm down!" Kavi admonished her charge. "None of them can understand you. Speak English."

Alex breathed, her smile nearly cutting her face in half. She spoke in Japanese to ensure all of them understood her.

"I found it! I know how to rescue the trapped spirits as well as get rid of the creatures!" Alex told them, her exuberance reminding them all of Mai.

"Are you going to explain or stand there like an idiot," Naru stood in the doorway with Lin behind him. They had heard Alex and come to see what she had for them.

Alex turned around, her smile changing as it landed on Naru. She spoke, smile never completely leaving her face. They all blinked as Naru wavered before disappearing. His clothing fell into a pile in front of the astonished Lin.

"What did you do to Naru?" Mai asked, wondering where her boss/love interest had gone.

"I turned him into a kitten." Alex said, not batting an eye as she turned to face the rest of them.

Sora had leapt off Mai's head to glide over to the pile of black clothing. Mai followed. Together, they pulled out a tiny black kitten with dark blue eyes who was glaring at Alex. It meowed, probably telling Alex to change him back. She smiled at him.

"So sorry Naru, I don't speak cat. It's up to Mai to change you back." Not really, the spell would wear off by the next afternoon. She wasn't going to tell them that though.

That's when Takigawa lost it. He began laughing. Ayako wasn't far behind him. Masako used her sleeve to hide the smile that was trying to form although she was, obviously, trying to refrain from doing so. John was staring incredulously, like he wasn't exactly sure if Alex had actually just turned Naru into a kitten. Lin stared, struggling not to laugh himself.

Mai cuddled Naru to her. She wanted to laugh as well, but knew better. Naru might have needed a lesson in manners, but that didn't mean everyone had to laugh at him. Well, not everyone, even though the tiny kitten glaring at them all was kind of funny.

"Nee-chan, how do I turn Naru back?" Mai brought their attention to her.

Alex shrugged and walked out of the game room. They stared after her. Did she really not know how to change Naru back? They relaxed when she reentered with a book in her hand.

"The answer's in here Mai-chan," Alex handed the other girl a book of fairytales. "Why don't you go back up to your room and read it. I'll bring you some tea." She looked at the kitten who was still glaring at her. "I'll bring something for him to eat as well. I don't think he's eaten anything today."

"Alright," Mai took the book, not knowing how fairy tales would help her, and stashed the kitten Naru in her pocket. He fit perfectly.

Naru couldn't believe this. He was a cat! Even worse, a tiny kitten who fit in his assistant's pocket! He grumbled. Alex had actually done it and now it was up to Mai to change him back.

"Don't worry Naru," Mai told him, "I'll reverse this and then you'll be demanding tea again like you always do."

Naru looked at her and meowed pitifully. He didn't like being a cat. How was he supposed to protect Mai?

Mai sighed and held him while she sat on the bed. Naru blinked as he realized where he was cuddled. However, it was warm and Naru discovered that he was tired. So, like any actual kitten, he curled up and went to sleep. He never saw Mai as she smiled gently at him and cuddled him just the tiniest bit closer. He began to purr when Mai absently stroked him behind the ears. She giggled a bit at the sound, enjoying it.

She read thru several of the stories, not really understanding what Alex had meant by the solution being in them. Naru wasn't under an enchanted sleep, nor was he a frog. Eventually, Mai fell asleep with the kitten Naru curled up in her arms.

* * *

Alex grinned, taking several pictures of her little sister and the enchanted kitten. She had figured that Mai probably wasn't well versed in western fairytales. Checking one last time to unsure they the both of them were sleeping, Alex crept away from the room and back downstairs.

"Both of them are asleep," she informed them all.

"Did you take pictures?" Takigawa asked, wanting blackmail material on Naru.

Alex blinked at him. "Of course I didn't. Why would I?"

They all stared at her. Alex shrugged. She wasn't going to tell them that she had, in fact taken several pictures. That was for her to know, not them.

"I'm going to prepare what I need for the spell. Two people should be arriving here shortly, so let them in when they knock." She left them with that. She had pictures to develop.

* * *

_Naru blinked as he woke up. He was still a kitten, but for the moment he found her couldn't complain. Looking around, he realized that he wasn't in Mai's bedroom. Wherever he was, it was just formless blackness. Looking around, he spotted Mai laying down. Sora was sitting beside her. Naru scurried over, tripping of his own paws and tail. _

"_Mai?" Well, to him it sounded like he said the girl's name. To everyone else it came out as kitten talk._

_Mai still woke up. She frowned and shivered. "Not another one, What else do we need to know?" Mai didn't like her dreams, no matter how helpful they were. She looked around for Gene, but didn't see him. She did see Sora and the tiny black kitten that was Naru._

"_Are you really Naru, or did Alex's spell turn Gene into a kitten as well?" Mai picked the kitten up and petted it. Naru purred._

"_It's Naru," Sora told her charge. "I don't know where Gene is," she muttered something Mai didn't understand, but Naru did. He gave what must have been a kittens version of a laugh._

"_You know," Mai told the cat, "this is almost like the first dream I had." Since nothing else was happening here, she told Naru everything that had been on her mind ever since he had questioned who she actually loved. She even admitted that if Gene didn't look so much like Naru, she probably wouldn't have trusted him until much later. Yet, since she knew Naru could never really hurt her, she had trusted Gene from the very beginning, just like she had with Naru._

_Naru sat and listened, for once in his life. He felt bad, he really did. How had he managed to put someone he cared for in so much pain? Why did he care? Nuzzling the girl, he knew why, he just didn't want to admit it._

_Scratch that thought. He did want to admit it. Third times the charm, wasn't that the saying? He resolved that once he was back in his human form, he would tell Mai exactly how he felt about her. Somehow._

_Mai sighed. "You're probably going to call me an idiot for doing this." She picked the kitten up and kissed his nose. "That's probably as close as I'll ever get." She sighed, eyes closing as she returned to sleep._

* * *

Naru blinked again. This time he really was awake. Only there was a very big difference. He was the one holding Mai. He was human again. Human, and naked. Naru felt himself actually blush. How was he to fix this problem?

He couldn't just leave the room. As unemotional as he knew he could be, Naru knew he didn't have the bravery needed to walk around naked in front of people who he worked with. Not when they undoubtedly were prepared with cameras to catch him as a kitten. Naru also didn't want to wait for Mai to wake up and find him naked in her bed.

Naru almost wished he was a kitten again.

"Naru?" Mai murmured sleepily. Naru froze. "You're not a kitten anymore."

"No Mai," Naru honestly hoped she didn't open her eyes. This was embarrassing.

Mai kept her eyes closed. She knew where Naru's clothing was. She should have thought to bring it up with her.

"How did you change back?" Mai asked instead.

Naru chuckled. "Idiot, you kissed me, didn't you?"

"You mean it was that simple?" Mai almost forgot and opened her eyes.

"Obviously," Naru replied. "Haven't ever read fairytales before?"

"Not western ones," Mai replied. "Besides, I've always preferred ghost stories."

Naru chuckled again, remembering how they had met. He realized he had laughed twice in a very short amount of time. He could also feel Mai's blush.

"I should go and get you your clothes," Mai said softly. She made no move to get up.

"What if I wanted you to stay here?" Naru asked her.

"I thought you were convinced I loved Gene." Mai replied. Winching, she realized how cruel that sounded.

Naru sighed. "I have been an even bigger idiot then you normally are."

Mai frowned, her eyes snapping open to glare at him. "Is insulting me a way to make yourself feel better?"

"No," Naru couldn't believe he was actually doing this. "I do it because I like your reaction." Mai was cute when she was angry, to him anyway.

"My…?" Mai stared at him, having completely forgot for the moment that she was the only one dressed at the moment.

Naru chuckled again, kissing her still surprised face. Mai's eyes closed as she leaned into the kiss. When they broke apart, Mai couldn't help but giggle.

"_True love's first kiss to break the spell_," she quoted softly.

Naru blinked at her, surprised that she had remembered something that she had read only a little while ago. Then he grinned. "That is usually how it works," he commented.

Mai could think of several ways to react to that comment. However, she knew of one that Naru probably wouldn't expect. She sighed, as if in annoyance.

"I love you Naru," Mai looked at him. He was obviously a little bit surprised at that comeback. Then he smirked.

"I already knew that," he told her. Before she could reply to him, he kissed her again. "I love you as well Mai." He looked at her. "I'm sorry it took me so long to understand that."

Mai smiled at him, her blush returning. "That's alright," she told him. "No one's perfect." She kissed him this time before he could reply to that.


	9. Chapter 9

Forest Secrets

Chapter IX

I do not own Ghost Hunt, only my OC people and the plot

* * *

Meanwhile, the rest of SPR was still in the game room. John had found a chess set and was now playing against Lin. Takigawa was teasing Ayako while they played checkers. Masako watched the two games, bored.

A yawning Alex entered the room. Glancing around, she realized that Mai and Naru hadn't reappeared yet. Kavi alerted her to Sora's presence. Just because she couldn't touch the squirrel, didn't main that that applied to Kavi. Her owl guardian told her that Naru's clothing was needed.

Nodding, Alex left the room to retrieve Naru's clothing. Or rather, the clothing he was going to wear whither he liked it or not. Really, the only think she had changed was the color of his t-shirt from black to a navy blue. Everything else was pretty much the same.

They never even noticed when she cracked opened the door and slid the clothing inside. Not that she expected them to. A transformation spell was one of the easiest to end, either the time set on the spell ran out, a kiss from one who you truly loved (first wasn't really necessary), the one who cast the spell died, or the person enchanted died. Very rarely did a magic user have the power to make the one enchanted immortal. Usually that meant the castor had to be immortal, or had to tie the spell to something that would last out the ages. Alex smiled, glad that her little sister had someone, even if he was the king of narcissism.

She returned to the game room. John and Lin were still playing their game, but Takigawa was setting up the board for another game with Ayako. Masako was still watching them. She approached the medium.

"Would you like to play something?" Alex asked her, grinning a pit when the girl jumped. She was silent when she walked, a habit formed during childhood and enhanced by having three hunters for spirit guardians.

Masako leveled a look at the girl. "I am not one for playing games."

Alex shrugged. "Surely you enjoy playing some kind of game?"

"Backgammon," Masako replied. "Though I doubt you have a board here to play."

"Don't doubt what you don't know," Alex told her. She went and dug around the games until she pulled out another checker board and a tub with pieces in it. Flipping over the board revealed a backgammon playing field. "Americans are inventive. You can play three different games using just one board, provided you have all the pieces of course. Care for a game?"

Masako nodded, surprised. She set up the board while Alex dragged over two chairs from the closet. Soon they were playing, with Alex taking the lead. By the time the first game ended, Alex was the winner and Masako had faced something she hadn't in many years, a challenge.

"Play again?" Masako suggested, wondering just how tired the woman was.

Alex grinned. "Certainly."

The game was almost over when John stood and wondered over, having finally lost to Lin in their chess game. He hadn't known Masako enjoyed playing board games. He watched the outcome as Masako won.

"You play very well Hara-san," the blonde exorcist told his friend. Masako blushed a bit.

"You two play," Alex gave John her chair. "Lin-san, would you be interested in playing against someone else?"

Lin nodded, having nothing else to do. They played a silent game, both finding that the other provided a good challenge. Usually, Madoka was the only one who, surprisingly, gave Lin a challenge anymore. Lin actually lost the game to Alex.

Alex yawned. It was getting late and she was getting worried. Her friends should have arrived by now. In fact, she turned to look at Takigawa and John.

"John-san, Takigawa-san, would you two mind sharing a room?" Alex expected a protest, but received none.

"I don't mind," John replied, having just lost to Masako.

"It wouldn't be the first time we had to share rooms." Takigawa told the woman. "Who gets to share among the girls?"

Alex shook her head. "No one, my friends that are coming are married." She frowned. "At least, I hope they're still coming. It's getting late." She looked at the clock.

"Do you think they might have gotten lost?" Ayako asked the girl. Alex looked much like Mai when the younger girl was worried or trying to hide her fear before it got the better of her.

Alex shook her head and whistled. Kavi appeared. Alex held out her arm where Kavi landed. "Go and see if you can find Rayan and Rafael. Lead them here if they are lost, and come to get me if they need help. Don't try to take on one of those creatures by yourself."

Kavi fluffed up. "I am not Fang, to even entertain the idea."

Alex sighed. "I know, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't warn you." The others looked away from the affectionate scene.

Kavi flew thru the wall into the night. Alex went to wait in the front room, gathering things she might need. The air was thick with apprehension. Kavi burst into the living room thru the window.

Alex ran outside to the barn where she only had to yank open the door. Dasher was already out of his stall. The gelding knew when there was going to be a battle. Alex wasted no time, yanking herself onto her horse's back and shouting at him to follow where Kavi led. She was surprised to find John running after her. Hero allowed him to ride her even though it was obvious that he was unused to riding without a saddle. Takigawa wasn't far behind. Leo however wasn't so easy to convince to let you ride him.

"Leo," Alex gave an order in Latin. The horse snorted but allowed the man to ride him.

Both men only had the very basic of what they needed for their exorcisms. Alex ignored that as she sent Fang and Loki out ahead of them. They were barley past the wards when they came across a beaten up pick-up. Two people, a bear, and a cougar stood in and near the back, facing one of the creatures.

Alex shouted something as her three spirit guardians joined the fray. Takigawa and John began their rituals, John being backed up by Rafael in Spanish. The horses were used to things like this, having all been ridden by Alex when she was doing magic.

"About time you showed up," the woman in the back of the truck, Rayan, called to Alex briefly.

"Yea, well, get in and get ready to run!" Alex called back. "Now!"

The command was followed quickly. The bear and cougar joined the owl, fox, and tiger in battle while the humans made for the warded area. They only turned and ran once their charges were safe. None of them stopped until they were all, truck included, inside the now barred barn.

"Thank you for your assistance." Alex told Takigawa and John. "Where on earth did the two of you learn to ride?"

Takigawa winched. "Never, and now I'm regretting ever trying." Leo snorted at him, obviously tempted to bite. Rayan came to his head.

"None of that now Leo," She told the horse sternly in Spanish. "Come, I'll tend to you."

"My father took me riding when I was younger," John told Alex, "it's been a while since I've ridden." He at least knew how to tend to Hero.

Alex dismounted and began to tend to Dasher, well named for his speed. "Takigawa-san, John-san, this is Rayan Santos and her husband Rafael. Rafael is a catholic exorcist as well as a witch. Rayan is a witch. The cougar is Zita, spirit guardian of Rayan. The bear is Adan, spirit guardian of Rafael." She introduced the other two, and included that there were others inside the house.

"Alex," Rayan shook her head. "Why didn't you call sooner? Did you know that your sisters have been calling all of your friends to try and find you? They seem to think you dead."

Alex scoffed. "They hope me to be dead. I've already informed them that I am still alive and kicking. They didn't seem to pleased with that."

Rafael shook his head. "Can the creatures get past your wards?"

"Nope, haven't since they've been summoned." She whistled three notes and the door opened. "The wards seem to harm them if they come to close. Night is when they are most powerful, although there has been at least one attack that I know of during the day."

They left the barn, Alex making sure it was closed. Her horses had done well that night and she would ensure their safety as well as remember a reward for them the next day.

"As to why I didn't call sooner," Alex sighed, "It hasn't been this bad. As it got worse, I tried to find ways to deal with it, but nothing worked for very long." She smiled tiredly. "Now however, I know how to get rid of the creatures for good as well as how to release the souls trapped inside of them."

Rafael held up his hand not holding his bag. "In the morning, for now we all rest. Understood?" Alex nodded agreement. Rafael hugged her. "Don't be to hard on yourself. Your grandmother's ghost would come after me." The man shivered. "We should have come to check up on you sooner. Fault lies on both sides."

Rayan hugged Alex as well. "We are here now. So no worries, okay?"

Alex nodded. When she had told Mai that she treasured her few friends, she had meant it.

"Thank you," she told them. "Come, I'll show you your room."

When they entered the house, it was clear that John and Takigawa had ushered the others up to bed. They had even moved Takigawa's things into John's room. Which was good, considering that the room John was staying in had bunk beds. Alex only stayed up long enough to check on Mai and Naru (who had gotten up long enough to pull on boxers and the t-shirt). Both were still sleeping.

Alex smiled tiredly. They may not be able to notice it, but a small black cat was curled up with Sora. It wasn't anywhere near as solid as the squirrel was. Alex made a note to take care of that later.


	10. Chapter 10

Forest Secrets

Chapter X

I do not own Ghost Hunt, only my OC people and the plot

* * *

The next morning, Alex found herself in the kitchen alone. Not unusual, considering she lived on her own in the middle of a forest. However, looking at the sheer amount of mixing bowls containing various mixtures, one would think she was preparing to feed an army. She was, a very small, very strange sort to of army of ten.

"Alright," carefully, she poured each mixture into a different pan. Hopefully, four different types of muffins, coffee cake, biscuits, and a few casseroles would be enough to continually feed everyone for a while.

It was still early and everyone else was still sleeping. That was why Alex was using this time to cook. It had been awhile since she had had such an opportunity. Oh, her students were well aware that she could cook. Every year, previous students had informed younger students about the 'holiday treats' Alex was known for bringing in, enough to feed not only her classes, but also other teachers and any former students who wanted to stop by and get something.

There was no magic involved, just skill and talent that had been honed by an adoptive grandmother who loved to cook.

Once everything was ready, Alex covered the casseroles to store them for later. She set the muffins and biscuits out, along with things to put on the muffins. Then, watching the clock, she began preparing water.

Just as the first kettle whistled, Mai stumbled into the kitchen. The girl was freshly showered and dressed.

"Morning," Alex smiled at her. "The water's ready."

"Thank you," Mai set to work making the usual drinks for her friends.

Alex grinned and set up another kettle. "No problem. I take it Naru isn't a kitten anymore?"

Mai blushed. "You left the clothes for him?"

Alex nodded. "You two never even noticed me."

"Have you been turning people into kittens again?" A woman Mai didn't know entered the kitchen.

"Only one Rayan," Alex replied. "Mai, this is my friend Rayan Santos. Rayan, this is my little sister Mai."

Rayan smiled at the shorter girl. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mai. Where are you from?"

"Tokyo, Japan," Mai replied, shaking the woman's hand.

Rayan turned to Alex. "No wonder you travel so much. Is that corn muffins I smell?"

Alex sighed, a smile tugging on her lips. "I travel because of work and where I wanted to go to study." She frowned at her friend. "You have no complaints when I visit you and Rafael in Spain."

Rayan laughed, already having placed four of the corn muffins on a plate and snatching up the apple jelly. "Of course not, nor when we're staying in Mexico." She grinned at Mai. "Alex travels quite a bit, one reason why none of her friends were to overly concerned when her sisters couldn't find her." She glared at Alex. "Next time tell us when you're in trouble."

Alex replied in Spanish, resulting in her and Rayan continuing the conversation. Mai sighed, not understanding anything they were saying. Just as she was setting up the table, knowing Naru would appear soon and wondering what kind of muffins he would like, a man entered.

He sighed. "They are at it again. So, what has Alex prepared for our delight this morning?" He looked at Mai.

Mai told him, pointing out where Alex had set up the food. The man smiled at her. He reminded her of John, if John was as big as a bear.

"Thank you," he replied, taking almost a dozen of the muffins along with three biscuits. Mai had never seen anyone eat that much.

"What are they talking about?" Rafael asked her, having introduced himself to the girl.

"Can't you understand them?" Mai asked, having already recognized his accent to be the same as his wife's.

"Si," he replied, "but it doesn't make much sense to a poor fellow like me."

Mai giggled, having a hard time imagining Rafael being poor in any sort of way. He was almost acting like a big kid, like Takigawa. She told him what she had understood of the conversation until they had slipped into Spanish.

"Ah, so you're Japanese then?" Rafael grinned. "I traveled thru Japan once, during my training. My teacher was a man well traveled and he believed in seeing how other faiths in different cultures dealt with exorcisms." He shook his head. "I still cannot make heads or tails of half the things people say. I'm afraid to even try, least I insult someone."

Rayan scoffed, her discussion with Alex having ended already. "Don't believe him Mai," she told the girl in heavily accented Japanese. "My idiot husband can speak every language he knows just fine. He just enjoys playing the stupid foreigner."

Alex laughed as Rafael bowed under his wife's admonishment. Mai giggled as well. Naru slipped into the kitchen. Mai already had his tea ready, something he enjoyed. He slid into the seat next to her without her noticing. At least until he stole one of the muffins off her plate.

"Hey-" she stopped when she realized it was him. "I wasn't sure what kind you would like."

He grinned at her, finding it a little bit easier each time he did it. "Mai, tea." his cup was already drained.

She glared at him, but got up and made him another cup anyway. Really, she hadn't expected him to change just because he admitted that she was really in love with him and he with her.

Soon, everyone was gathered into the dinning room and kitchen. Alex made sure that everyone knew who, and what, everyone was. A knock on the door interrupted them. Alex blinked, wondering who would be knock on the door. No one she could think of would be welcome except for the forest rangers, though why they would be knocking on her door she didn't know.

Alex opened the door. "Can I help you?" Alex recognized neither the car nor the two people standing on her porch.

"Hi!" The woman spoke, cheerful to the point where Alex wondered if sugar was involved. "I'm Madoka Mori, this is Yasuhara Osamu. We're looking for our friends," she shoved a picture of SPR into Alex's face, "have you seen them?"

Alex snatched the picture from Madoka. "It depends, why are you looking for them?"

Yasuhara smiled. "We're concerned since they haven't checked in recently. Their equipment arrived, but they did not."

Alex nodded. "How did you know where my home was? Even the local forest rangers have trouble finding it."

"This was the return address used on the packages," Madoka explained.

Alex sighed and nodded. "Alright, come in. Have you eaten yet?"

"No…" Yasuhara trailed off, not knowing what to call the woman.

"Alex," she told them. "Breakfast is in the kitchen." She led them to the mentioned room. The effect of their arrival was quickly evident.

"What are you doing here Madoka?" Naru asked, ready to order his former teacher back to Japan.

"We were worried. We thought you might have finally met your match. You're lucky your mother didn't come with us." Madoka told him, still smiling.

Naru looked almost horrified before he regained his calm façade. "As you can see, we're all fine. On Saturday we shall conclude this case and return to Japan."

"Why wait until Saturday?" Yasuhara asked, curious as to why they wouldn't take care of it immediately if they knew how.

"I can answer that," Alex spoke up. "How about we move this to the office? There's room for everyone there." She grinned. "Just let me get my things. Mai-chan, do you want to help?"

Mai nodded, quickly kissing Naru on the cheek before following after her sister. Everyone stared after her. Except Naru, who stood and went to the office.

Takigawa cheered. "You owe me Yasuhara. I told you They would get together before Mai's birthday!"

"You actually bet on when they would get together?" John stared at them all. Why hadn't he heard about this?

"Yes," Masako sighed. "I had my money on Christmas this year." John stared at her. He had thought her to still be chasing after Naru. Obviously he was wrong. Maybe this meant he had a chance? Technically, he wasn't a full priest just yet. He could still get married if he wanted.

"Oh don't look so shocked John," Ayako told the blonde. "You weren't there when we made the bets. Although, I thought they had told you."

John shook his head. "Don't let Naru know," he told them. Considering what his sometimes boss would do when he found out, he was glad he hadn't made any bets. He left the kitchen.

Once they had everyone in the office, Alex and Mai arrived with a laptop and wires. Alex set up a ceiling projector (revealing what the trapdoor in the ceiling was) and opened a slideshow. Alex took her place up front with a laser pointer while Mai was put in charge of flipping through the slides at Alex's signal.

Naru slipped behind Mai so that he could see the screen. Alex was going to go at a pace so that all of them would be able to understand. That would undoubtedly bore Naru.

Mai stood up and went to turn off the lights. When she returned to her chair, Naru tugged her into his lap. She blushed, but no one else saw it.

"Okay," Alex looked up at the fist slide. "This is a crime scene photo from 2007, taken the morning of June 28. You can hardly see anything from the blood and whatnot," she motioned and the slide changed. "This is the symbol the five boys used when they brought the creatures onto this plane. A reversed pentagram, more commonly known as a Satanic Pentagram." She continued to outline the spell the boys had used.

"To reverse this, we, as cliché as I know this is, will use 'white' magic. Or rather, our intent will be different." She pointed out the five points. "Each point will have a male/female pairing. The women will summon and banish the creatures. In between those two spells, the men will exorcise the spirits from within the creatures."

"How will we manage that?" Rafael asked, "Exorcism works best against a single person or room at a time. I understand that we have two Catholic exorcists, a Buddhist monk, a Miko who will be working the spell with you, and a Chinese sorcerer. That leaves one creature untended."

Alex grinned. "No it doesn't. All five of the creatures are from the same entity, just five different parts of it. Once we have all five summoned and trapped in one place, they'll become one again. That leaves it as four against one. Once the souls have been exorcised, the men will step back and the women will banish the entity back to the plane it actually exists on. This spell centers on opposites."

Rayan grinned. "So who are you paring up? We have six pairs. We need only five."

Alex grinned. The slide changed to an animation. "Lin and I will be in Spirit, Mai and Naru in Fire, You and Rafael in Air, Takigawa and Ayako will be in Earth, and Masako and John will be in Water. Women hold the candles. The lines of the pentagram will channel power to those that need it. Not only do we need opposites, but we need more power then the original spell called for as those we're summoning and banishing are more powerful then originally."

"Impressive," Rayan nodded, "who's actually saying the spell?"

"I am," Alex told them. "No offense to you Rayan, but your Latin is horrible."

Rayan shrugged. "What can I say? All of my spell work is in Spanish. You're the one who insists upon using un-translated spells."

"They work better." Alex replied, "Is everyone alright with the plan? Now would be the time to change anything."

There were more questions and even a few suggestions. By the time they called the meeting to an end, everything was set. Alex, Rayan, and Mai (since Alex was teaching her) went to make sure Alex had everything that would be needed. Eventually, she sent Rafael out to get three things she did not have enough of. Luckily, she had two people who could bless water so she didn't have to go to the local church and ask the priest there to bless two large bottles of holy water.

"Twice-blessed water?" Rayan raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a little overkill?"

Alex looked at her. "I'd rather be safe then sorry. Besides, it won't hurt the spell and I'm hoping that it'll actually help Rafael and John during their part."

Mai looked up. "You mean using the holy water for them to channel their power?"

Alex grinned and nodded. "Got it in one, power travels thru things that provide the easiest path. In a spell, say a calling spell for example, you would use a mirror or fire, or even a bowl of water. Not a chunk of wood or stone. As one grows into their magic, the things they use and can do become more apparent."

Rayan took over. "For example, I can't do anything when it comes to water magic but fire and air spells I can do without a problem. Your sister here, she deals best with spirit spells and healing. Although…" Rayan trailed off. "You'd best explain that part Alex."

Mai turned to Alex, expecting one of the woman's usual lectures. Alex looked away, busing her hands with fresh candles. Rayan sighed, annoyed.

"Fine, it can wait." The air around them lost the tense feeling. "However, you need to tell her. Obviously she shares your gift in spiritual magics. I'd rather not find out the hard if she shares your other talents." Rayan left the basement, leaving the two sisters alone.

"You do-" Alex cut her off.

"Yes, I do. However, Rayan is wrong about it waiting. The spell we're doing on Saturday night is just the sort of spell that would begin the test."

"What test?" Mai didn't like the look Alex had on her face.

"Magic is very aware of what goes on in the world. Even those who never use it can sometimes feel it. Some are sensitive to it, even if they can't use it." Alex sighed. "When you're on cases with SPR, do the ghosts and whatnot take a liking to you? As in, they seem to target you to get a point across or they want you silent so that they can continue with their haunting?"

"Yes," Mai swallowed. "My dreams…they usually show what happened in the past. Naru explained my knowing when something is safe or dangerous 'animal-like instinct'."

Alex shook her head. "He would." She looked up at her. "Rayan is gifted in seeing where a witch's power lies." She swallowed. "I have dreams to, but I never had anyone tell me it was ESP. Gran taught me magic to help me control it. When the test happened, I wasn't even aware of it."

"What happened?" Mai felt fear. She knew this was something Naru couldn't protect her from.

"There was a fire. It attacked me. I fell into the pool, the water didn't want to let me go. There was a cave-in in the caves near here, I got out when everyone had stopped digging because it looked like it would further cave-in if they did anymore. I fell from the roof and floated down to the ground." Alex breathed out. "If you pass the test, it means you have an affinity for that element. I passed spirit, because that power runs thru my veins as it does yours. I passed earth and air as well. Fire and water I barely lived through, but I still have some control over them."

Mai nodded. "So, I still have four elements to go?"

Alex shrugged. "It depends. I think you might have already past air, considering Sora is a flying squirrel. Earth as well, considering wolves are creatures of Earth. Do you have any thing that you think could be possible tests?"

Mai opened her mouth to deny any instances, but stopped. When she was eight, she had fallen from a sakura tree but landed without harm. She had passed it off as a lucky fall, as had her mother. However, she distantly remembered another child falling the same way, from the same tree, and breaking both his arm and his leg from his landing. A landing Mai had copied exactly when she had fallen. As for earth, she wondered if falling into a grave at the age of ten and climbing out again as two of the sides collapsed counted. She told of theses instances to Alex.

"Yes, those count. By all rights, I should have been severely injured when I fell off the roof. I landed on my feet, like I had only jumped from the front steps. The cave-in should have been my grave site, but I found a path out." She sighed. "So fire and water."

"I nearly drowned when I was twelve," Mai put in. "I don't know who pulled me out. I was alone when I woke up."

Alex blinked. The same thing had happened to her, when she had fought her way out of the pool until she had surrendered, admitting that she couldn't fight and live. The pool water had basically pushed her to the nearest ladder, allowing her to climb out and basically collapse.

"Have you survived any fires then?" Alex asked, checking off water.

"Not that I know of," Mai told her.

Alex nodded. "Alright then, just be careful. Fire is the most dangerous test, but it also tends to be the easiest to pass."

"I'll be careful," Mai promised.

Alex grinned. "Mai, do you think Naru would be interested in discovering his spirit animals?"

Mai shrugged. "He'd probably call them an incontinence."

"What if I told him it would help his PK?"

Mai shrugged. "Would it?"

"Possibly, have you had any sudden, seemingly random dreams that aren't really 'dreams'?" Alex asked, knowing the answer.

Mai shook her head. "I also haven't been falling asleep randomly for no reason." She blinked. "Is that because…"

"Of your spirit animals taking a concrete shape?" Alex nodded. "Yes, another reason our type of witch finds her spirit animal. They help to balance out our power. Especially the powerful ones, since the power one can use the greater control it needs. Without our spirit companions, the power would eventual consume us. The best thing to happen to you after that is death."

Mai swallowed. "Why?"

"Insanity," Alex told her calmly. "Not being able to control your power, not having a buffer, the power eats the person who uses it. It drives them insane over a period of time. The lucky ones die quickly, in one great burst of power."

Mai nodded. Fear gripped her. Would it happen to her? She'd spent her life up until this case not knowing she had magic, though now that she thought about it she should have realized something was off about her.

Alex saw the look on her little sister's face. She hugged her. "It won't happen Mai," she told the girl. "Sora, Sade, and Kana will help, guide, and protect you. I am here to teach you everything that I can. Don't be afraid," she hugged the girl again. "Magic is a part of you, it always has been. Those people I told you about, they lost their lives far before they ever reached their seventeenth birthday."

"Who told you?" Mai asked, wiping tears off her face. She didn't remember mentioning her birthday to Alex. Though she should have, now that she thought about it.

"I heard Takigawa mention it to Ayako, talking about hoping they were back home for your birthday. When is it by the way?"

"July third," Mai told her.

Alex grinned. "Right before the Fourth," she shook her head. "Let's go upstairs. We've done everything that can be done. We can't set up until the twenty-seventh. That's three days away. We'll have some fun before then, how's that sound?"

Mai nodded. "It sounds wonderful, but I don't think Naru will agree."

Alex shrugged. "I wish I could take you out on the trails, but with the creatures it's not safe. How about we have a game tournament. I bet I can get Naru interested."

Mai paused, thinking. "You're on."


	11. Chapter 11

Forest Secrets

Chapter XI

I do not own Ghost Hunt, only my OC people and the plot

* * *

Naru was annoyed. The phone continued to ring constantly, but everyone was ignoring it. He certainly wasn't going to answer it. He spotted John speaking with Rafael. Takigawa and Yasuhara were deep in conversation, something that tended to spell trouble for someone (most likely him). Rayan was talking with Ayako, Madoka, and Masako about what they did. Lin was doing something on his laptop, now fully charged so he wasn't using Alex's. Naru himself was reading a random book he had picked up form Alex's office/library.

"Hey all," Alex entered the room with Mai.

"Mai, tea," Naru said, knowing his girlfriend would react to his order.

She did, as always. This time Alex didn't say anything, nor did she turn him into a kitten. Instead, she came over to him.

"Naru, do you know how to play chess?" Suddenly, with that one question, everyone's attention was on them.

Naru stared at the girl. He knew how, Lin had taught both him and Gene. He rarely played however, considering he was Naru.

"Yes, I know how." He told her, knowing everyone was listening.

"Would you care to play me a game?"

"No," he returned to his book.

Alex leaned in closer. "I have pictures," she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. "I'm sure the others would like to see them." She leaned away. "Well, if you don't want to, I guess I'll just have to play against Lin again."

Naru glared at her. "I'll play." He never wanted anyone to see any pictures of him as a kitten.

Alex smiled brightly at him. "Thanks Naru, I'll go set up."

Soon everyone was gathered in the game room. SPR couldn't believe Naru was playing an actual game. Alex's friends wanted to watch Alex beat someone new. No one had beaten Alex at chess in years, a fact few knew.

Mai watched as the two battled it out. When the game was over, everyone stared at the board.

"A draw?" Rayan couldn't believe it. "Play again, this has to be a fluke."

The next three games were also draws. The fifth game Alex won. The sixth went to Naru. After that, Madoka took her turn. The others had gotten the idea and set up their own games. Ayako was beating everyone who played her at checkers. Masako had taken control of the backgammon board. Lin had set up another chess board and soon those playing chess were switching partners until it came down to Naru against Alex again. Alex won by only a small stroke of luck and a well placed bishop.

"Hey Alex," Rayan finally caught the younger woman's attention. "Where are we all going to sleep?"

Alex groaned. Her house was full enough as it was. "Madoka can room with Masako, that room has two beds. As for Yasuhara, he'll either have to sleep on the couch or take the bed out in the barn."

"Why is there a bed in the barn?" Takigawa asked, not understanding why someone would put a bed where no one would either see it (he hadn't the one time he was in there) or really use it.

"I put it there for when one of the horses is sick or something. It's up in the loft." Alex told him, not going to tell these people the actual reason.

"That makes sense," Takigawa shrugged and left it at that.

"I'll take the couch," Yasuhara decided. It had looked comfortable enough.

"Alright then," she yanked on Rafael's arm, "you come help me pull the bed out." Her couch was a sofa bed, rarely used but kept just for times like these.


	12. Chapter 12

Forest Secrets

Chapter XII

I do not own Ghost Hunt, only my OC people and the plot

* * *

They were all stuck in the house for the most part, since the creatures had already proven that they would attack during the daytime. Alex had kept a stock of games out of habit, but she worried on how many games of checkers someone could play before they went crazy.

"Okay," Alex caught all of their attentions, knowing many of them were not used to being confined for so long. "I have a very large yard outside. Everyone, get out of my game room and go do something outside. Don't go past the wards and you'll be fine." She actually snatched Lin's laptop and Naru's book away. "That includes you two. Come willingly and I won't send Mai and Madoka after you."

The two men glared at her. Alex glared back, though she was hardly still. She kept twitching, as if preparing to move and not allowing her self to do so. Madoka took the chance.

"Come on Lin," she yanked on his arm with surprising strength, "you heard our host! Outside we go!" Lin found himself dragged from his seat and out the door.

Naru watched, unimpressed, as his former teacher dragged his main assistant outside. He heard Alex placing the things she had taken on one of the tables. Looking up, he spotted Mai, dressed in jeans, boots (where had she gotten those?), and a t-shirt that didn't hide the necklace that hung around her neck.

She smiled at him, "Please come outside Naru. Alex is going to show me how to actually ride a horse."

Naru sighed. "Fine, but only because knowing you, you'll fall off."

Mai went red in anger. "I suppose you can ride then? Mr. The-Only-Thing-I-Can't-Do-Is-Write-Hiragana-or-Kanji!"

Naru shrugged. "Of course I can ride." He had been forced into it because Gene had wanted to learn. "And of course I can write in hiragana and kanji, I just choose not to."

Alex swallowed her laughter. They had a strange way of flirting, but it suited them. "Come on then, we can all ride." Alex grinned. She would put Naru on Leo. He would bring the boy down a few notches.

In the barn, which was now wide open, Alex set about teaching Mai how to saddle Hero and Dasher. Naru and Leo were having a glaring contest. Finally, Leo snorted at Naru and went over to Mai. He tried to nip at Hero, who gave him her own glare and turned aside.

Alex laughed. "I guess Leo wants you to ride him." Alex eyed her most temperamental horse. This was odd. "Get his saddle Mai, see what happens." She went over to stand beside Naru. "Yank Mai away from him if he even appears ready to do anything. He hates being ridden with a saddle on, even with me."

Naru glared at her, but nodded. He watched Mai carefully as she retrieved the only remaining saddle. The horse eyed the thing with distaste. Naru edged forward, ready to grab Mai when it looked as if Leo would balk.

However, contrary as always, he stood stock still as Mai saddled him. Mai, not knowing what Alex had told Naru, didn't pay attention to anything except saddling the horse correctly. Once she was done, she turned to Alex for inspection.

"Excellent," Alex praised both Mai and Leo. "Mai, can you get on?"

Mai nodded, trying to do as Alex usually did. She failed and landed on her behind. Naru sighed, picked her up, and swung her onto the horse. Then he went and mounted Hero, as easily as if he did this everyday. Mai glared at him.

"Alright," Alex swung herself into Dasher's saddle. "Let's move out." She told Mai what to do, showing her on Dasher.

Leo actually listened. Alex didn't know if it was because he actually liked Mai or if it was because she was there and she had won the horse over years ago when she had rescued him.

The others had taken to watching the three on horse back. It was nice being able to spread out from the cramped confines of the rooms in Alex's house. Big as it was, twelve people was a bit much.

By the time night fell, everyone was exhausted. Mai and Alex tended to the horses, Naru being forced to do so as well. He finished first, but waited for Mai. He listened as they spoke about what Mai had learned. Naru knew Mai wasn't stupid, just oblivious about things that were apparent (and some things that weren't) to most people.

"Tomorrow we load up the ATVs," Alex told them as they walked back towards the house. "The easiest way to get to the spot where we're doing the spell is by ATV and horseback."

"How many ATVs do you have?" Naru asked, already thinking about how else they would get to the spot.

"Three," Alex replied. "Each is big enough for a passenger. I figured that you, John, Lin, and Mai could ride the horses while the rest of us are on the ATVs. Rayan will take Masako, I'll take Ayako, and Rafael can take Takigawa."

Naru nodded. "You'll be leading then?" He didn't like losing control over a case. However, he knew when he was out of his depth. Magic was Lin's area when it came to cases.

Alex nodded. "Considering I'm the only one who knows where it is." She sighed. "Everyone needs to rest tomorrow. The creatures are not going to be dealt with easily."

* * *

_Mai awoke the morning of the twenty-seventh feeling strange, like something was going to happen that she didn't want to happen. Looking around, she realized she wasn't in her bedroom. Once that was noted, she looked around for Sade, since this looked like the place Mai had first met her lioness counterpart. No one was in sight._

_Standing, Mai began walking in the direction she had been facing once she had managed to stand up. There was a glowing in the distance. Curious, Mai went closer to take a closer look. Not the smartest thing to do, considering who she was, but Mai would always be Mai._

_It was a wild fire. The flames were devouring everything in their path. This included the black clad person who just stood there._

_At first Mai thought it was Naru, but when he turned around it was Gene. Mai looked at him in shock. He had to move! The flames would kill him! Mai had to save him! _

_As Mai started to move, she realized something. Gene was already dead. She couldn't save him. There was no point in even trying. The flames wouldn't be able to harm him. Looking up at Gene, she shook her head. There was nothing she could do for him._

_The flames roared and surged. Suddenly, it wasn't Gene standing there, but Naru. Her Naru. The one who demanded an insane amount of tea and teased her relentlessly to see how red she would go before she blew up at him. The one who held her heart even if it had taken him awhile to realize it._

_Mai moved, knowing she had to save Naru. The flames cut her off, surrounding Naru and Mai both but keeping them apart. Mai cried, seeing the flames creep closer to Naru. _

_Why wasn't he moving? The smoke she hadn't really noticed before became thicker, beginning to block her view of Naru. She saw him collapse._

"_No, Naru!" Mai surged through the flames, crying out as they burned her. She fell to her knees, in pain as a few flames still clung to her._

_Swallowing hard, she stood up on shaky legs, making her way to Naru and falling beside him._

"_Naru, you have to wake up," Mai shook him, beating out the flames that had begun to eat away at the older teen's clothing. Mai was crying, she knew she was. _

_Standing again, she tried to pull Naru away from the approaching flames. She stumbled and fell several times, but managed to bring them to a clear area. Naru wasn't breathing and nothing she seemed to do changed that. _

_Her hands and feet burned every time she moved them. Tears ran down her face. The fire crept closer until it consumed her…_

* * *

"_**Naru**_!" Mai jerked awake, looking around her room frantically for the boy. Had she actually screamed?

Her door burst open, Naru standing there looking as if he had just rolled out of bed. Mai leapt at him as soon as she saw him. He couldn't understand what she was mumbling in rapid Japanese. All he could do was hold her.

Naru carried Mai to her bed, sitting down against the headboard as he held her and tried to calm her down.

"You were dead," Mai finally whispered. "I couldn't save you from the fire. I was so scared."

"I'm right here Mai," he told her softly. "Alive, just like you are. What happened in your dream?" he hoped it wasn't a sign that Mai's dreams would now also be precognitive as well as post-cognitive.

He listened. By now the others had gathered in front of the door. Alex pushed her way thru them. She was the first to spot Mai's injuries. She sent Kavi to retrieve her bag.

"It was your fire test," Alex said softly, telling the others they needed to go. Rayan and Rafael helped usher them away, knowing they were worried about Mai. Rayan promised to explain it to them in the morning. Once they were gone and Kavi had given her the bag that held her simplest healing implements, she turned back to the couple on the bed.

"Explain." Naru demanded, not releasing his hold on Mai.

"When a witch is learning magic, before they become of age they are tested by the five main elements of our world. This is to see what kind of power a witch has. Very seldom are the tests pleasant." Alex explained. She took one of Mai's feet. Now the couple realized Mai was injured.

"I thought it was only a dream…" Mai shook as she spotted the burns covering the tops of both her feet and the backs of her hands.

"Fire marks those that can use it, no matter their strength in it." She removed the gloves she always wore, though few people actually realized it. Her own feet were bare. "When these heal, you'll most likely have the same scars as I do." Two parallel scars on each hand and foot contrasted darkly against Alex's skin. "You passed. Who did the fire use first?"

"Gene," Mai whispered, closing her eyes.

"He's dead Mai," Naru told her. "You couldn't save him, no matter how much you may have wanted to. It isn't your fault."

"Naru's right," Alex carefully cleaned the burned areas before slathering on her own burn cream concoction on them and wrapping them lightly. "Fire is many things, just as each element is. Passion though, that's a very large part of it. Your passion to save Naru was greater then that to save Gene." She looked Mai in the eye. "Even if Gene was still alive, when you saw Naru in danger, who would you have gone to?"

"Naru," Mai replied without thinking. She blushed, but Alex shushed her before she could say anything else.

"That's the whole point. The fire knew that, so it put you in a position where you wouldn't hesitate." Alex smiled at her, wiping her hands so that she could tug her gloves back on. "Get some rest now," she eyed Naru. "it would be pointless to tell you to go back to your room, wouldn't it?" Naru simply glared at her. "Good night then," Alex kissed the top of Mai's head before saying something softly.

Mai slumped against Naru, asleep. Naru glared harder at Alex.

"What did you do?"

"Ensured she won't dream again tonight," Alex told him. "Also, its to make sure she sleeps." She shrugged. "I also wanted to discuss something with you."

"What?" Naru eyed Mai, wishing he could protect her in her dreams. He hated it when she was hurt.

"Would you be interested in discovering your spirit animals?" Alex asked him, watching him for his reaction.

"I'm not a witch," he replied. He was certain Lin would have known if Naru had any magical skills along with his PK.

"No," Alex admitted, "you're not. You do have power, though you don't use it often." Naru glared at her. "I've studied for years on how to sense different types of power. It's a very useful skill to have. No one told me anything."

"Why are you asking?" Naru was waiting for the catch.

"There's a lot of things behind my asking. My own curiosity for one," she stared at Mai. "Mai is the main one though. I know she's going to return to Japan with all of you. That is where her life is. I may be her sister, but you all are her family. Your spirit animal would be able to protect Mai where you can't follow."

Did Alex mean Mai's dreams? Naru knew that Gene wouldn't let anything happen to Mai, but Gene wouldn't always be there. His brother had to move on at some point. Naru looked at the woman who looked so much like his Mai.

"How?"

Alex grinned. "Come with me."


	13. Chapter 13

Forest Secrets

Chapter XIII

I OWN NOTHING BUT OC PEOPLE AND THE PLOT!

* * *

When Mai awoke, she was still in Naru's arms. However, there was something different about him. Looking at him, she realized it. There was a white, dark gray, and black braided string around his neck. Mai couldn't see the charms, but she knew they had to be there.

"See anything interesting?" Naru asked, looking down at the girl in his arms.

"When did you get these?" Mai's hand ghosted over the braided strings, knowing not to touch them.

"Last night," Naru replied. "Ai is currently curled up with Sora." Naru felt his eyebrow twitch at the fact one of his 'spirit animals' was a small black cat named love. Mai giggled.

"Do you only have one?" Mai questioned, hoping Naru wouldn't keep it from her.

"No, I have two." Naru told her. "Ryo is currently in his charm." Ryo was a panther. Naru had to wonder how he had ended up with two felines, but Alex had actually _giggled _upon seeing his two charms (amber for Ai and onyx for Ryo). Once he had his charms onto their strings (white for Ai and dark gray for Ryo with black adding in the third piece needed for a braid), he had quickly returned to Mai. Alex giggling was something he never wanted to see again. It was _almost_ as strange as being lectured by a squirrel.

Mai yawned. She didn't want to get up just yet. It wasn't as if they would be doing anything today. She snuggled back into Naru's chest, perfectly content to stay there.

A knock on the door ruined that plan. Alex stuck her head inside.

"Good afternoon," she greeted them. "There's food in the kitchen if you're hungry." She fought to keep her face straight. "I suggest you get up before one of the others decide to barge in here. I fear _some_ of them have cameras."

Mai blushed. Naru inwardly groaned. Of course Madoka would have a camera. Between his former teacher and his mother, he wasn't sure who was worse.

The two of them got up. Naru returned to his room, leaving Alex alone with Mai.

"How are you feeling?" Alex had her medical kit with her. She began tending to Mai's burns.

"They don't hurt," Mai told her, watching as the bandages were removed.

"Good," Alex inspected the burns closer. "That means the cream is working like it should. Go shower and get dressed. Don't be scared if skin comes off of your hands and feet. It's supposed to."

"Alright," Mai stood up. "Why will it do that?"

Alex grinned. Mai still had a lot to learn about hiding her emotions. "It's one of the properties of the cream I used last night. It removes the damaged skin, which comes off when you bathe."

Mai nodded in understanding. "Will it bleed?"

"Nope," Alex closed her bag. "Now go shower. Your boy won't wait to long before he demands his tea." Alex chased Mai into the bathroom, clothing in hand.

When Mai was done in the shower, she looked over her hands. On the back, on each hand, there were two parallel scars running from left to right. Checking her feet, there were the same scars, only they went up and down. All eight were distinctly visible, but healed. She felt no pain from them.

Ayako was the only one in the kitchen when Mai entered it. She observed the girl she had come to see as a little sister. She was quick to spot the scars.

"What happened Mai?" Ayako took one of the girl's hands to look it over. The scars were from burns, but Ayako knew she had never seen them before.

"They occurred during my dream last night," Mai explained, not knowing how else to explain it.

"These are healed," Ayako looked at her. "There's no way these could have happened last night."

"It must have been the stuff Alex put on them last night," Mai told her friend. "They don't hurt."

"They shouldn't," Rayan entered the kitchen. She took Mai's hand from Ayako and looked it over. "Alex is very good when it comes to healing, just as her grandmother was." She smiled warmly at Mai. "I know Grace wasn't Alex's grandmother, but that doesn't mean much when it comes to magical teaching. Just remember, just because Alex can do something, doesn't mean that you can do it as well. Each person's gift is different."

Mai nodded, understanding what Rayan was telling her. The woman turned to Ayako and drew the red-head into conversation. Mai quickly lost track on what they were talking about. Instead, she returned to making Naru his tea and something to eat. Then she went to the office.

"Mai, tea," Naru didn't look up. He was reading one of his black notebooks.

Mai sighed, sitting down the tea cup. "Here," she took her own cup off the tray. She sat down, eating her own food while Naru seemed to ignore his. Ai was perched on his shoulder just as Sora was perched on Mai's head.

Ai didn't like that Naru was ignoring his food. She leapt towards the notebook and knocked it away. Naru glared at her.

"Eat," the cat demanded, uncaring that her charge was glaring at her. Cats were, after all, the masters of glaring. "You can read later."

Mai stifled her giggling. She had already learned that just because they were called 'spirit' animals, they were something completely different then normal spirits. Naru would have to learn this as well.

"Get used to that," Alex stood in the doorway. "We're ready by the way. The only thing we can do now is wait until dawn."

"Why dawn?" Mai asked, curious as ever.

"Dawn is a middle stage between the end of night and the beginning of day." Alex explained. "Dusk, or twilight, would work as well, but for this case we need to begin early." Alex sighed. "I'd like to actually do the spell at midnight, when it is neither day nor night and one of the best times for magical workings."

"Why don't you," Naru stated, sending another glare at Ai as he slowly ate the food Mai had brought him.

Alex shrugged. "If it was All Hallows, I would. However, the creatures have always been absent during those times when night and day both exist in the sky. That makes it the safest time to travel to the place where we're doing the spell and exorcism. It gives us time to set up protections and the diagram we'll need to do the spells to summon, trap, and banish the creatures. We'll do the first two spells at dusk when the creatures are hiding, then the exorcism can be done, then as night falls we'll banish the creatures."

"What about the spirits?" Mai asked, since it seemed to her that attention was being focused on the creatures then on those trapped inside them.

"That's up to you all." Alex explained. "I've no talent when it comes to dealing with spirits, except attracting and dreaming about them, finding out what they want."

Naru rolled his eyes. That, at least, explained why spirits, demons, ect… always seemed to be attracted to Mai. That such a thing ran in her family made sense and assured him a tiny bit. Why it did so, he wasn't sure, but it did.

"Very well," Naru suddenly remembered something he had actually meant to ask last night. "Have you told everyone how you plan for us to get to the place we're ending this?"

Alex's eyes gleamed. "Yes, since they asked why I was making sure Madoka and Yasuhara knew how to unsaddle and saddle the horses. Lin is not happy with you at all."

Naru ignored her. Lin would just have to deal with what was most likely going to be their strangest case. Certainly they had never come across a witch before, or at least a living one.

Mai wasn't even going to ask. She was probably better off not knowing. Instead, she watched as Naru got his notebook back from Ai.


	14. Chapter 14

Forest Secrets

Chapter XIV

I OWN NOTHING BUT OC PEOPLE AND THE PLOT!

* * *

The next morning had hardly begun to dawn when Alex, annoyingly wide awake and alert, woke everyone else up. The young witch did everything (short of actually using magic) in her power to get them going and on either a horse or on ATV.

Mai, once she was certain Naru wasn't going to let her fall off Leo, went back to sleep against him. Naru silently marveled at his now sleeping girlfriend, who was quickly proving his theory that she could go to sleep anywhere.

In a mix of dread and sleepiness, the group remained silent for the most part. Lin, observing them all from horseback (he was never going to forgive Naru for letting the girl do this to him), found it amusing to see Takigawa and Ayako traditionally dressed and seated on an ATV. Lin and John were bringing up the rear of the group, making it Lin's job to ensure that the yawning priest didn't fall off his horse.

By the time the sun was taking a firm hold on the sky above them, Alex was pulling off the main trail and onto a shorter, much less used trail. The second trail ended in an open area near a shallow part of the river. There was enough room on the bank to park the ATVs. Instead of having Loki take back the horses, Alex had those riding them unsaddle and tie them behind the half circle formed by the three ATVs.

Alex was already taking out what she needed to begin drawing the design symbol of the spell. She dragged Mai and Rayan over to help, warning everyone else to stay away unless she told them otherwise.

She was drawing it on a stone that breached out into and over the river. It was large and nearly smooth. The symbol began as a simple pentagram. Alex spent several minutes assuring that it would point north. Once the star was drawn roughly in black chalk, Alex painted over it with white paint Rayan had mixed using the twice blessed water. She did the entire drawing the same way, first in the black chalk then the white paint. As the paint dried, Mai walked along it following Alex. The youngest of the three was pouring out a thin line of liquid from the bottle Alex had given to her. Mai didn't know what it was, exactly, but she wasn't completely certain that she wanted to know.

John nervously watched as the three girls did their work. Rafael came up to stand beside him.

"I was nervous to, the first time Rayan needed my help with a spell." He told the younger man.

John looked up at him (the man was almost a foot and a half taller). "Most of what I have learned about witchcraft says that it is evil and goes against the church." He confided in the man, glad he had someone who had once been in his position.

"As both Alex and my wife would say, magic itself isn't evil." He frowned. "Rayan explained it to me this way. Religion has good and bad behind it, but religion itself isn't good or evil. What people do with it is. Just because one priest uses God's teaching to condemn a person or a group, doesn't mean that all of the priest will do so."

"It's a matter of interpretation then," John frowned as he thought about what Rafael was telling him.

"In a way," Rafael agreed, "it is. If that doesn't help, think of the people who are actually doing the spell. Could you ever condemn them as being evil and working for the Devil?"

John didn't notice Rafael walking away as he thought. While he didn't know the other two women very well, he knew Mai. Calling Mai evil would, in John's opinion, be slanderous to the girl's vary nature. While he did not know very much about magic, what he had seen of it recently had not seemed harmful (Naru had changed back, after all)

He was brought out of his musings when Alex began speaking. All of them watched, Mai and Rayan coming back towards the main group, as the design glowed. The glow gained power before flashing brightly three times and then settling. The circle that enclosed the design only glowed where the points f the star touched it. Alex stepped away from it.

"We have some time until we do the spell." She told them. "Until then, we should be ready should anything happen. Don't do anything near the working."

With that last warning, she proceeded to set out things to eat and drink. All of it was simple and rather plain, but no one complained. The day couldn't g by quickly enough. Luckily, for them at least, the creatures did not come near them. Alex ran through the spell procedure once again.

* * *

Alex lit the purple candle that represented spirit. Together, she and Lin stepped inside the circle and began to walk it. At each point beginning with air and ending with water, she lit the candle the pair there had. Reaching her starting point, the circle closed and sealed the spell working. With all ten of them facing the center of the star, Alex began.

_**We summon those once summoned here,**_

_**Creatures of darkness, consumers of souls.**_

_**Those that prowl the land they cannot claim.**_

_**We summon those once summoned here,**_

_**Come to us who call you here.**_

Yowling and screeching rent the air as a shadowy mass began to form in the center. Five forms could be seen in brief flashes as the creatures fought to separate. The men switched places with the women and began to do their part in exorcising the spirits from the mass of shadows.

The shadow mass fought, but slowly small orbs of glowing white light drifted out from it and then upwards where they disappeared from sight. When the last of them were gone, the shadow mass was much smaller and the dark glow that came from it was dimmer then it had been before.

Alex began again.

_**We banish those once summoned here,**_

_**Creatures of darkness, consumers of souls.**_

_**Return to that which you belong.**_

_**We banish those once summoned here,**_

_**Leave this place and those who called you here.**_

The shadow mass flashed several times as it fought the spell, but Alex repeated it again. Rayan's voice joined hers, a beat behind. The exorcists began their own chants once more.

With a final flash, the mass dispersed and faded out of existence. Mostly unnoticed, a few of the symbols drawn between the star points faded as well, no longer needed.

Alex dispersed the rest of the spell, beginning with the warding circle. Once that was gone, everyone could leave the area while Alex and Rayan (Alex sent Mai to sit beside Naru) removed the rest of the traces of the spell working. Once finished, they returned to the others.

"Are you sure that it worked?" Takigawa asked, feeling drained.

Alex smiled weakly. "Listen and tell me what you hear." Full night had fallen now. All of the normal nighttime animals were out and making far more noise then any of the SPR members had heard before.

No one said anything. Ayako gave a small smile that she hoped no one saw. She could feel the spirits inside the trees again. Masako sighed, all feelings of dread having gone the moment the shadow mass had ended being anything. Mai relaxed against Naru, the feeling that there was something _wrong_ about the forest gone.

"Back to normal," Alex sighed out softly before dragging herself to her feet. "Come on," she said louder, "I'm not going to fall asleep out here."


	15. Chapter 15

Forest Secrets

Chapter XV

I OWN NOTHING BUT OC PEOPLE AND THE PLOT!

* * *

It took two days of rest before all of them were back to being their normal selves. Naru requested enough tea that Mai nearly told him to move to the kitchen verses staying in Alex's office. Ayako and Takigawa were flirting again (although no one was calling it that to their faces unless it was to get them to stop). Lin was back to his normal silent self, though Madoka had taken it upon herself to get him to interact with everyone else. Yasuhara was scheming (though no one dared to ask what). John and Masako were being the most contained and calm.

"Do you really have to go so soon?" Alex was sitting in the game room playing chess against Rafael. Rayan stood behind her husband, watching the game.

"Yes," Rayan answered. "My mother is going to want to hear about this. She's already going to be annoyed because we deviated on our way to her."

Alex sighed, nodding. "Alright, but don't be to hard on her. She'll probably be upset that I didn't call her to come and help."

Rafael snickered. "You wouldn't have needed to do so much work then. She'd have just scared the creatures away."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Checkmate," she tipped over his king. Rafael scowled at her.

"Why do I play you again?"

"In the hopes that you'll win once in awhile," Alex replied. "When are you going to leave?"

"Tonight," Rayan answered. "What about the others?"

"Wednesday," Alex replied. "That's the only flight they could get that had room for all of them."

Rayan hugged her. "Don't be sad," she told the girl, "now go save your sister before she kills her boyfriend." Naru had just called for more tea.

Alex laughed, shaking her head. "Good luck, be safe, don't get into too much trouble." She gave them both a final hug before leaving the game room to intercept Mai.

* * *

"They're going to be calling you flight soon," Alex commented, giving Mai one last hug.

"I know," Mai squeezed Alex a little harder then needed. "Are you sure about this?"

"Very," Alex replied. "You have a life in Japan. Go live it. Just remember, my door is always open if you need _anything_." She grinned. "Besides, I wouldn't put it past his majesty to kidnap you." Both snickered at that before Alex became serious again. "You know my number if you have any questions, and my e-mail address as well." She removed the bag that was hanging from her shoulders. "This is for you, consider it seventeen years worth of birthday and Christmas presents." Mai moved to open it. Alex stopped her.

"No," she removed the bracelet from her wrist and placed it on Mai's. "Open it only once you've landed back in Japan. The key will open the locks, but not until you're in Japan."

"Okay," Mai agreed, wondering what on earth Alex was giving her. The bag was heavy, but nothing Mai couldn't handle on her own.

Alex pushed her into Naru, wishing the both of them luck and a safe journey. She watched as they disappeared with the others of SPR into the area where only passengers were allowed.

* * *

Mai looked behind her, watching as Alex disappeared behind them. Naru glanced at her. One thing he didn't want to ever have to deal with was a crying Mai, mostly because Mai was not a person that tears ever seemed to fit.

"You'll see her again," he said softly. He was not one that was good at comforting, but he was willing to try for Mai.

Mai nodded. "I know," she replied, "but it's still hard. We just met and now we have to part ways."

Naru shrugged. What was he supposed to say?

At that moment their flight was called. Naru pushed Mai ahead of him, making sure she didn't trip on the way into the plane. Mai turned and smiled at him before walking further ahead to sit down between Lin and Naru.

Naru and Alex were both right, Mai decided. She did have a life in Japan. She would see Alex again. Besides, Alex had said that she liked to travel, right?


End file.
